EDUCATION  IN 
THE  FAREAST 


GHARLEo  1.  iHWlNG 


M:!il;i!i 


l;h, 


iii^rll. 


^'^'  %«^ 


\ 

LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Class 

Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.arcliive.org/details/educationinfareaOOthwirich 


AMERICAN   COLLEGES:   THEIR  STUDENTS 

AND  WORK. 
WITHIN  COLLEGE  WALLS. 
THE  COLLEGE  WOMAN. 
THE    AMERICAN    COLLEGE    IN    AMERICAN 

LIFE. 
COLLEGE  ADMINISTRATION. 
IF   I  WERE  A  COLLEGE  STUDENT. 
THE  CHOICE  OF  A  COLLEGE. 
A    LIBERAL    EDUCATION    AND   A    LIBERAL 

FAITH 
COLLEGE  TRAINING   AND   THE    BUSINESS 

MAN. 
A    HISTORY    OF    HIGHER     EDUCATION     IN 

AMERICA 
EDUCATION   IN  THE  FAR  EAST. 


EDUCATION  IN  THE 
FAR  EAST 


EDUCATION  m  THE 
FAR  EAST 


BY 

CHAKLES  F.  THWING,  LL.D. 

PBESIDBNT  OF  WESTERN  RESERVE  UNIVERSITY  AND 
ADELBEBT  COLIiEGE,  CLEVELAND 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1909 


GHNEHAl 


T6 


COPYRIGHT,   1909,  BY  CHARLES  F.  THWING 
ALL  RIGHTS  RSSERVBD 


Published  June  iqog 


To  M.  D.  T. 

THE  COMPANION  OF  A  YEAR'S  VOYAGE 
AND  OF  THE  VOYAGE  OF  YEAES 


184406 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

This  book  is  not  a  description.  It  seeks  to  be  an 
interpretation :  an  interpretation  of  forces,  tenden- 
cies, and  movements,  in  parts  of  the  world  which 
are  destined  to  fill  an  enlarging  place  in  men's 
thoughts.  The  relation  of  education  to  these  con- 
ditions is  the  most  important  of  all  relations.  I, 
therefore,  shall  be  glad  if  the  reader  is  able  to 
think  of  the  book  as  at  once  human,  and  a  bit, 
though  I  hope  not  too  much,  educational. 

C.  F.  T. 

Cleveland,  Ist  May,  1909. 


CONTENTS 

I.  The  Problem  of  the  East  and  the  Far 

East  3 

JAPAN 
II.  The  Japanese  Mind  61 

III.  Similarities   and   Contrasts    of  Japa- 

nese AND  American  Education  70 

IV.  Education  without  Religion  and  with 

Ethics  95 

V.  The  Japanese  as  Administrators  104 
VI.  Japan  as  a  Colonizing  and  Expanding 

Power  112 

CHINA 

VII.  Chinese  Institutions  123 

VIII.  The  New  Education  in  China  138 

IX.  The  Chinese  Menace  168 

INDIA 
X.  India's  Need  of  Technical  and  Indus- 
trial Education  169 


z  CONTENTS 

XI.  The  Higher  Education  for  Women  in 

India  178 

XII.  "What  Shall  I  Do?"    The  Question 

of  the  College  Man  in  India  187 

XIII.  The  Future  of  Indla.  196 

AMERICA  IN  THE  PACIFIC 

XIV.  Science  as  a  Nation's  Protector  225 
XV.  Great  Men  in  the  Philippines  235 

XVI.  The  American  Teacher  in  the  Philip- 
pines 245 

XVII.  The  Competition  of  the  Races  in  the 

Straits  Settlements  254 

XVIII.  Indirect  Forces  for  Civilization  in  the 

Far  East  263 

Index  273 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  AND 
THE  FAR  EAST 


THE  PKOBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  AND 
THE  FAR  EAST 

IN  JAPAN 

The  problem  of  the  East  and  the  Far  East 
relates  to  five  nations,  Japan,  China,  Korea, 
India,  and  Egypt.  The  one  problem  is  of  five 
applications,  and  the  five  applications  repre- 
sent one :  a  force  and  condition  for  the  solu- 
tion, —  education. 

Archbishop  Tait  said,  near  the  close  of  his 
long  life,  that  from  his  youth  he  had  found 
that  the  English  Church  was  in  a  crisis.  It  is 
a  crisis  no  less  permanent  through  which  Ja- 
pan is  passing ;  yet  at  the  present  moment  and 
in  these  years,  indeed,  the  crisis  seems  pecul- 
iarly critical.  The  crisis  represents  conditions 
rather  than  acts,  or  events,  or  even  movements 
or  forces.  It  is  not  a  condition,  however,  aris- 
ing from  wars  either  waged  or  won,  or  to  be 
waged,  or  even  from  rumors  of  war.  The  crisis 


4  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

concerns  not  the  relation  of  races  oriental  or 
occidental,  of  capital  and  labor,  of  socialism, 
of  taxation,  or  of  any  economic  theory,  of  de- 
mocracy and  absolutism.  These  conditions  or 
forces  may,  in  other  nations  at  the  present 
time,  represent  or  create  crises;  but  not  in 
Japan. 

The  critical  problem  of  Japan  is,  in  a  word, 
to  continue  to  keep  its  life  simple,  as  it  takes 
its  place  with  the  other  great  political  powers 
of  the  world.  Simplicity  of  life  is  a  state  of 
mind  quite  as  much  as  a  condition  of  environ- 
ment. But  it  IS  concerned  with  environment 
as  well  as  with  the  mental  state.  The  simple 
life  is  the  interpretation  of  life  in  terms  of  the 
spirit,  and  not  of  the  flesh  or  of  the  purse.  It 
stands  for  the  negation  of  the  lust  of  the  flesh 
and  the  lust  of  the  eyes.  It  knows  not  pride, 
and  it  does  know  humility,  quietness,  gentle- 
ness. It  is  free  from  and  absolutely  above  all 
desire  to  make  display.  It  represents  direct- 
ness, honesty,  decorum.  It  incarnates  the  cardi- 
nal graces  quite  as  well  as  the  cardinal  virtues, 
—  and  even  these  virtues  it  does  not  neglect. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  5 

Such  a  life,  of  quiet  and  reserved  and  dig- 
nified simplicity,  the  nation  and  the  people  of 
Japan  have  led.  Will  they  be  able  to  main- 
tain it  ? 

Several  causes  are  working  to  do  away  with 
such  a  life  among  the  fifty  millions  who  form 
this  nation. 

One  of  these  causes  lies  in  the  increasing 
wealth  of  the  country,  and  especially  in  the 
increasing  wealth  of  men  who  already  are  rich. 
In  common  with  most  peoples,  the  Japanese 
have  large  eyes  for  the  rich  man.  In  ^*Who  's 
Who  in  Japan  "  are  named  several  men  and 
families  of  wealth  and  of  large  material  power. 
One  of  these  families,  the  Mitsui,  it  is  said, 
in  somewhat  foreign  Enghsh,  "  is  one  of  the 
oldest  miUionaire  families  and  the  most  noted 
hereditary  houses  of  *  business  kings '  in  Ja- 
pan, managing  the  big  family  concerns  some- 
what after  a  fashion  of  constitutional  mon- 
archy, for  the  eleven  heads  of  the  main  stock 
and  scions  of  the  family  are  individually  in- 
significant and  only  acquire  importance  as 
proprietors  of  different  concerns."  In  the  same 


6  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

volume  the  president  of  the  Tokyo  Steamship 
Company  is  described  as  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  his  fortune  in  utilizing  the  refuse  of 
gas  and  coal-tar  works,  and  he  is  commended 
as  being  "  now  an  acknowledged  power  in 
business  world."  A  certain  bank  president  is 
described  as  being  "  adopted  into  the  present 
millionaire  family  as  husband  of  its  only 
daughter  " ;  and  still  another  is  called  "one  of 
the  new-made  millionaires."  Such  interpre- 
tations are  intimations  that  wealth  has  already 
taken  a  no  small  place  in  the  esteem  of  the 
Japanese  people. 

It  can  also  without  rashness  be  affirmed 
that  the  industrial  and  commercial  develop- 
ment of  Japan  in  the  next  decades  is  certain 
to  increase  both  the  number  of  rich  men  and 
the  riches  of  men  already  rich.  Formerly  the 
merchant  was  of  the  lowest  social  class.  He 
was  below  the  farmer  and  the  mechanic.  The 
Samurai  might  handle  the  plough  or  the  hoe, 
but  not  the  soroban.  By  this  method,  power 
was  divided,  —  the  power  of  wealth  was  kept 
apart  from  the  power  of   the  higher  social 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  7 

order.  All  this  is  changed.  Men  of  wealth 
receive  decorations  from  the  hand  of  the 
Emperor.  The  head  of  the  Mitsui  family  is  a 
baron,  and  Okura,  "one  of  the  new-made 
millionaires,"  already  referred  to,  wears  the 
Third  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun.  The  presence 
of  great  wealth  is  in  every  country  a  menace  to 
simplicity,  and  especially  is  it  a  menace  when 
united  with  social  rank  and  royal  honors. 

A  second  force  working  against  simplicity 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  Japan  is  taking 
her  place  with  the  world-powers.  The  world- 
powers  are  not,  and  never  have  been,  accus- 
tomed to  laying  emphasis  upon  the  simple 
life.  The  ruling  classes  of  these  powers  stand 
for  material  splendor,  for  impressive  environ- 
ment, for  elegance,  if  not  for  greatness,  of 
architecture,  and  for  elaborateness  in  the 
daily  provision  for  one's  personal  sustenance 
and  happiness.  These  classes  are  lavish  in 
domestic  expenditure,  profuse  in  the  attention 
paid  to  physical  comforts,  prodigal  in  getting 
and  using  whatever  can  delight  the  exterior 
senses  or  intoxicate  the  lower  elements  of  the 


8  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

imagination  of  man.  As  a  world-power  Japan 
feels  that  she,  too,  should  imitate  the  material 
magnificence  of  other  great  nations.  Eoyal  pal- 
aces in  many  parts,  some  seldom  occupied, 
courtly  and  splendid  ceremonial,  large  ex- 
penditures which  do  not  represent  efficiency, 
these  are  intimations  of  the  temptations  which 
beset  the  new  empire  and,  in  a  lessening  de- 
gree, its  people.  Such  temptations  the  Japa- 
nese cannot  avoid.  There  is  no  escape.  The 
condition  arises  from  Japan  taking  a  place 
among  the  world-powers ;  and  such  a  condi- 
tion militates  mightily  against  the  simple  life. 
This  condition  is  reinforced  in  at  least  two 
ways :  by  the  Japanese  who  go  abroad  (and 
they  are  not  a  few),  and  by  the  foreigners  who 
come  to  Japan  as  visitors  or  as  residents.  The 
Japanese  are  gifted  in  the  art  of  imitation  (the 
Chinese  call  them  monkeys).  Travelling  in 
either  the  United  States  or  Western  Europe, 
or  living  for  a  time  in  New  York,  London, 
Berlin,  Paris,  Vienna,  they  return  home  bear- 
ing the  assurance  that  their  Tokyo  or  Yoko- 
hama or  Kyoto  cannot  be  worthy  of  metro- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  9 

politan  rank  and  prestige,  unless  these  cities 
too  adopt  the  more  dominant  customs  and  cere- 
monials of  the  governmental,  commercial,  and 
social  capitals  of  the  world. 

The  example,  too,  of  liberal  or  prodigal 
expenditure  set  by  the  foreigner  coming  to 
Japan  moves  toward  the  same  conclusion. 
The  American  and  the  English — and  they 
seem  more  numerous  than  other  nationalities 
—  lay  a  tremendous  accent  upon  their  mate- 
rial belongings  and  comforts.  Such  an  atten- 
tion is  a  revelation  to  the  simple  and  hardy, 
sandal-footed  and  lightly  clothed  folk  of  the 
island-kingdom. 

But  other  causes,  and  opposing,  there  are, 
which  are  vigorous  in  maintaining  the  general 
and  the  pristine  simplicity  of  this  people. 

The  first  of  the  six  causes  which  I  shall 
name  is  industriousness.  In  Japan  everybody 
works.  Japan  is  a  Holland  in  respect  to  the 
commonness  of  labor  and  the  diligence  of  the 
laborer.  I  am  sure  the  very  dogs  would  work 
here  as  they  do  in  Holland,  if  there  were  any 
dogs.    But  animals  of  all  sorts  are  few.   Man 


10  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

is  the  laborer.  Labor  arises  from  both  neces- 
sity and  habit.  Originally,  of  course,  the  habit 
arose  from  the  necessity.  But  now  both  unite 
in  urging  all  to  work.  For  Japan  has  received 
few  of  those  gifts  which  Nature  gives,  even 
to  squandering,  to  the  tropics.  The  Japanese 
people  are  of  the  Northern  zones,  and  like 
most  people  of  these  zones,  have  to  work  for 
what  they  get.  Industriousness,  be  it  said, 
tends  to  keep  life  simple.  For  industriousness 
teaches  the  cost  of  things,  not  in  dollars  do 
I  mean,  but  in  that  cost  which  the  toil  and 
weariness  of  body  and  of  brain  represent.  In- 
dustriousness is  the  enemy  of  luxuriousness, 
extravagance,  prodigality.  So  long  as  the 
Japanese  remain  a  people  of  hard  and  con- 
stant work,  —  and  apparently  the  time  when 
they  can  afford  not  to  be  such  is  far  off,  —  so 
long  will  the  tendency  toward  maintaining  the 
simple  hf e  remain  strong. 

The  people  are,  furthermore,  a  people  of 
self-restraint.  They  are  free,  by  nature,  from 
vaingloriousness.  If  their  triumph  within  a 
decade  over  the  two  most  populous  nations  has 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  11 

given  to  a  few  a  sense  of  arrogance,  this  sense 
is  neither  general  nor  constant.  Their  walk 
and  conversation  is  one  of  quietness  and  hu- 
mility. They  are  unwilling  to  enter  the  com- 
petitive life  of  social  rivalries.  A  distinguished 
banker  recently  built  a  house.  The  architect 
planned  a  dwelling  which  he  thought  became 
the  wealth  and  station  of  his  client.  But  the 
house  proved  far  more  elaborate  than  the 
owner  desired.  "  I  do  not  think  I  shall  live  in 
it,"  he  said  to  a  friend  of  mine;  "I  want  a 
simple  house."  On  the  shore  at  Hayama,  near 
Yokohama,  is  a  royal  palace.  In  the  rear  is 
a  sloping  hill.  Few  Japanese  are  building 
houses  on  the  hillside,  because  they  are  un- 
willing to  look  down  on  a  prince.  They  also 
are  unwilling  as  a  people  to  get  credit  for 
themselves  through  another's  discredit.  Such 
self-restraint,  self-abnegation,  represents  a 
form  and  a  condition  making  for  simplicity. 

Buddhism,  too,  has  promoted,  and  will  still 
continue  to  promote,  simplicity  of  Hfe.  The 
essence  of  Buddhism  is,  if  I  at  all  understand 
it,  the  principle  of  the  mystic,  to  put  one's 


12  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

self  in  harmony  with  the  Absolute :  the  Ab- 
solute is  the  Eternal  in  time  and  the  Infinite 
in  space.  The  Absolute  is  the  Buddhist's  God. 
This  harmony  is  intellectual, — achieved  by 
meditation ;  it  is  emotional,  — oneness  of  feel- 
ing arising  from  unity  of  intellectual  reflec- 
tion; it  is  also  volitional,  —  the  resultant  of 
both  intellectual  and  emotional  sympathy. 
That  Buddhism  is  thus  comprehended  by  the 
great  body  of  the  people  is  not  to  be  expected ; 
but  the  presence  among  the  people  of  such 
an  essential  principle  cannot  but  make  for  the 
living  of  the  simple  life.  Social  ambitions  — 
the  cause  of  much  living  which  is  not  simple 
—  vanish  in  the  light  of  such  a  fundamental 
truth.  Intense  struggle  for  political  or  finan- 
cial power  and  place  ceases  before  the  decla- 
ration of  so  sublime  a  doctrine.  The  great 
teaching  of  Buddhism  enforces  the  lesson  of 
simplicity,  as  do  the  face  and  the  form  of  the 
great  image  placed  in  the  Cryptomeria  groves 
at  Kamakura. 

The  racial  purity  of  the  people  also  aids  in 
promoting  simplicity.  The  contrast  between 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  13 

the  mixture  of  races  which  one  finds  in  most 
American  commonwealths  and  in  most  Ameri- 
can cities,  and  the  unmixed  blood  of  most 
Japanese  provinces  and  towns  is  deep  and 
impressive.  Of  course  there  are  in  Japan,  as 
in  other  parts  of  eastern  Asia,  Eurasians  (one 
half  of  the  word,  "  of  Europe  "  and  one  half 
"  of  Asia  ") ;  but  few  are  they.  The  Japanese 
is  Japanese,  and  Japanese  he  will  on  the 
whole  remain.  Such  purity  and  oneness  of 
blood  tend  to  give  unity  to  the  interpretation 
of  life,  of  truth,  and  of  duty.  Such  purity 
and  oneness  tend  to  create  and  to  foster  sim- 
plicity of  personal  habits  and  family  customs. 
A  certain  sea-level  of  behavior,  of  convention 
and  conviction  is  thus  maintained. 

The  respect  paid  to  the  scholar,  and  the 
regard  in  which  scholarship  is  held,  also  aid 
in  securing  the  great  result  of  simplicity.  In 
the  Far  East  the  scholar  is  honored  as  he  is 
not  in  the  Far  West.  The  professor  in  the 
Imperial  University  in  Tokyo  has  a  social 
standing  of  the  order  of  that  belonging  to 
the  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Japan. 


14  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

^^  Teacher  "  is  a  word  of  the  utmost  respect. 
In  Japan,  as  in  most  lands,  the  scholar  has 
a  small  purse.  His  life  must  be  made  simple. 
The  community  in  Japan  demands  that  his 
life  be  simple.  Even  his  students  would  lose 
respect  for  him,  if  he  were  guilty  of  any  at- 
tempt to  make  that  life  elaborate  or  splendid. 
The  influence  of  the  scholar,  therefore,  is  in 
favor  of  simplicity.  This  influence  is  profound 
and  wide.  So  long  as  the  scholar  is  honored, 
and  so  long  as  learning  commands  its  present 
respect,  so  long  there  will  be  serious  difficulty 
in  making  Japanese  life  ornate  or  elaborate. 

There  is  one  further  condition  tending  to- 
ward the  same  conclusion.  I  refer  to  the  gen- 
eral teaching  of  ethics.  No  subject  of  the 
whole  course  of  study,  from  the  primary  school 
to  the  university,  is  so  commonly  taught  or 
is  so  constantly  honored  in  its  teaching,  as 
the  science  of  right  living.  The  ethics  of 
Confucius  has  for  centuries  commanded  the 
attention  of  the  Japanese  mind  and  the  devo- 
tion of  the  Japanese  heart.  Its  fundamental 
principles  are  taught,  illustrated,  impressed 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  15 

daily  in  thousands  of  schools.  It  is,  too,  very 
good  ethics  for  teaching,  learning,  obeying. 
Of  the  five  principles  of  the  noble  man  which 
Confucius  pointed  out,  —  benevolence,  up- 
rightness, decorum,  enlightenment,  and  sin- 
cerity, —  the  Japanese  have  specially  adopted 
the  second  and  the  third,  uprightness  and 
decorum.  The  man  of  right  character  and 
of  beautiful  conduct  represents  the  Japanese 
ideal.  That  ideal  is  held  up  in  public  school 
and  private.  It  is  presented  in  the  text-books 
issued  by  the  government,  and  prepared  by 
a  graduate  of  an  American  college.  Professor 
Nakashima  of  the  University  of  Tokyo.  Such 
an  ideal  offers  to  the  Japanese  people  a  life 
simple  without  barrenness,  and  rich  without 
being  overwrought. 

To  this  problem,  therefore,  of  keeping  life 
simple  in  an  age  which  is  not  simple,  and  in  a 
world  of  which  the  stronger  nations  are  giv- 
ing themselves  to  a  Roman  luxuriousness,  the 
Japanese  people  are  addressing  themselves. 
A  great,  a  very  great  problem,  in  its  serious- 
ness and  fundamental  relations,  it  is.  Despite 


16  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

opposing  forces,  there  are  strong  reasons  for 
believing,  as  I  have  tried  to  intimate,  that 
this  advancing  nation  of  the  Far  East  may 
solve  the  problem  more  satisfactorily  than 
any  world-power  has  yet  solved  it. 

IN    CHINA 

The  problem  of  China  is  no  less  than  the 
problem  of  her  civilization.  It  is  not  a  prob- 
lem which  she  interprets  for  herself.  To  inti- 
mate that  she  is  not  civilized  would  seem  to 
her  the  height  of  Western  arrogance.  For 
to  her  the  rest  of  the  world  is  sunk  in  the 
depths  of  barbarism,  out  of  which  she  alone 
has  lifted  herself,  or  in  which  she  was  never 
involved.  But  according  to  Western  standards, 
much,  very  much,  remains  for  China  to  do 
before  she  can  take  her  place  with  civilized 
powers  and  peoples. 

The  biological  elements  included  in  this 
comprehensive  problem  are  of  tremendous 
significance.  Only  one  third  or  one  quarter 
of  the  children  born  in  China  reach  adult 
life.  Such  slaughter  of  the  innocents  is  inevi- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  17 

table.  Most  hygienic  conditions  are  unsani- 
tary. Most  cities  are  without  water  or  drainage 
systems.  Peking  draws  its  water  from  wells, 
and  pours  its  waste  into  the  streets.  Wu- 
chang's little  alleys  reek  with  filth.  Such 
cities,  great  and  small,  are  only  types.  The 
material  home,  almost  everywhere  made  of 
hardened  mud,  is  dark,  damp,  dismal,  deso- 
late. In  the  biological  part  of  the  whole  prob- 
lem belong  certain  interpretations  as  well  as 
facts.  Disease  is  thought  by  Chinese  physi- 
cians to  be  a  conflict  between  the  spirit  of  light 
and  the  spirit  of  darkness  within  the  man. 
The  thought  is  strictly  mediaeval.  The  battle 
of  the  spirits  of  many  sorts  is  a  usual  concep- 
tion. All  of  life  and  of  being  is  filled  with 
their  presence.  The  treatment  of  disease,  too, 
is  quite  as  irrational  as  its  diagnosis.  Ex- 
orcism and  the  prescription  of  nondescript 
compounds  are  customary.  Ground-up  beetles 
are  given  in  treating  scarlet  fever,  for  beetles, 
too,  shed  their  skins.  The  razor  is  the  most 
important  instrument  in  mid-wifery.  Such  are 
some  of  the  biological  conditions  which  China 


18  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

is  obliged  to  consider  in  solving  the  problem 
of  her  civilization. 

But  the  sociological  conditions  are  yet  more 
impressive.  The  garment  of  Chinese  life  is 
woven  of  superstitions.  It  is  impossible  to  re- 
count or  to  indicate  their  significance.  On  the 
wall  of  a  Chinese  town,  or  settlement,  may  be 
found  painted  a  red  spot.  It  resembles  a  hole. 
The  devil  trying  to  enter  at  night  will  be  de- 
ceived, supposing  that  it  is  a  real  hole,  and 
will  rush  up  to  it,  only  to  crush  his  skull !  The 
gateway  to  every  yamen  or  house  opens  upon 
a  wall.  Evil  spirits  are  supposed  to  move  in 
straight  lines.  Therefore,  having  come  through 
the  gateway,  they  will  be  met  by  this  brick 
screen  and  diverted  from  their  course.  The 
midsummer  revolt  of  1900  was  indeed  a  mad- 
ness, inspired  in  no  small  part  by  a  belief  in 
evil  spirits.  As  the  life  of  the  individual  is 
lived  in  superstition,  so  is  his  death  died.  The 
funeral  has  great  sociological  as  well  as  reli- 
gious meaning.  The  length  and  the  degree  of 
mourning  are  subjected  to  well-ordered  regu- 
lations.   The  completeness  of  the  mortuary 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  19 

ceremonies  may  entail  a  debt  on  the  family 
lasting  for  generations.  The  whole  sociological 
condition  is  the  type  of  extreme  conservatism. 
"  It  has  been  so  "  is  sufficient  reason  for  the 
thing  being  as  it  is.  China  is  a  nation  petrified. 
In  her  problem  of  civilization  China,  of 
course,  includes  the  element  of  her  own  gov- 
ernment. That  government  is  an  oriental  mon- 
archy imposed  upon  a  social  democracy.  It  is 
strong  or  weak,  as  the  monarchy  is  strong  or 
weak.  It  has  usually  been  an  effective  gov- 
ernment. It  has  not  counted  any  life  dear  in 
the  face  of  its  own  wishes.  Its  monarch,  su- 
preme and  absolute,  circumscribed  by  plots 
and  cabals,  is  a  modern  counterpart  of  the 
Roman  emperor  after  the  time  of  Constantine. 
In  this  government  are  two  significant  ele- 
ments: the  absence  of  formal  law,  and  the 
presence  of  official  dishonesty.  China  has  no 
Parliament  to  make  laws,  no  law  schools  (or 
only  one)  to  train  lawyers,  few  formal  courts 
which  administer  laws,  and  no  administration 
which  can  be  called  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. The  justice  administered  by  the  mandarin 


20  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

IS  a  travesty.  The  practice  of  his  court  is  a 
practice  without  those  procedures  and  forms 
which  Western  civilization  has  adopted  as  nec- 
essary for  the  discovery  of  truth.  The  first 
information  which  one  may  have  of  a  case 
brought  against  him  may  be  the  actual  exe- 
cution of  the  judgment.  A  citizen  of  Hankow 
was  informed  that  within  twenty-four  hours 
he  must  pay  a  bill  of  ten  thousand  taels.  The 
bill  was  for  lumber  furnished  and  work  done 
by  a  carpenter.  He  declared  that  he  had  bought 
neither  lumber  nor  labor.  But  the  accounts 
were  apparently  right.  What  was  his  method 
of  relief  ?  He  went  before  the  court,  and  ac- 
knowledged that  the  bill  was  correct,  that 
he  had  received  the  goods.  But  at  the  same 
time  he  exhibited  receipts  in  full.  The  fact 
was  that  both  sets  of  statements  were  forgeries 
from  beginning  to  end!  The  carpenter-con- 
tractor had  spent  five  thousand  taels  in  bribes 
to  secure  a  decision  from  the  mandarin  giving 
judgment  for  ten  thousand  taels.  In  case  the 
judgment  had  been  executed,  he  would  have 
made  five  thousand  taels.  The  man  against 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  21 

whom  the  false  charge  was  made  had  spent 
two  thousand  to  three  thousand  taels  to  secure 
a  judgment  in  his  favor.  He  himself  was  sat- 
isfied, for  the  money  thus  spent  in  bribes  was 
less  than  a  third  of  the  ten  thousand  taels 
with  which  he  was  charged.  The  mandarin 
and  his  associates  were  satisfied,  for  they  had 
received  money  from  both  prosecutor  and 
defendant.  The  prosecutor  was  probably  not 
satisfied,  but  then  he  deserved  punishment  I 

This  case  is  only  a  type  of  the  "grafting" 
which  is  a  second  characteristic  of  the  gov- 
ernment. I  suppose  it  is  impossible  to  over- 
estimate its  prevalence  or  to  minimize  its  sig- 
nificance. It  is  the  force  which  moves  the 
administrative  machinery.  Of  course  the  Im- 
perial Customs,  whether  under  the  incom- 
parable administration  of  Sir  Robert  Hart, 
the  great  man  of  China,  or  under  his  recently 
appointed  successor,  is  always  to  be  excepted. 
But  the  exception  helps  to  prove  the  rule. 
For  the  Chinese  government  cannot  trust  this 
important  matter  of  collecting  customs  to  its 
own  of&cers.  Every  office  represents  a  bargain. 


22  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

It  has  its  price.  The  officer  accepting  it  pays 
the  price  and  makes  himself  good,  and  more 
than  good,  by  payment  from  his  official  sub- 
ordinates. It  may  be  some  great  vice-royalty, 
which  represents  the  payment  of  three  hun- 
dred thousand  taels;  but  out  of  the  office 
he  may  make  through  farming  the  taxes  six 
hundred  thousand  taels  a  year.  It  may  be  a 
petty  gate-keeping  office  of  only  a  few  taels 
a  month.  It  likewise  involves  purchase  and 
sale.  "  Is  the  Presidency  of  the  Central  Board 
of  Education  also  bought?"  I  inquired.  ^^Of 
course;  everything  is  bought." 

In  this  financial  relationship  it  may  not  be 
unfitting  to  mention  that  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment publishes  no  statement  of  its  income 
or  expenditure,  no  statement  of  its  debts  or 
pecuniary  obligations. 

The  biological,  the  sociological,  and  the 
governmental  elements  of  civilization  are  the 
elements  which  China  must  consider  in  any 
attempt  made  for  her  own  civilization.  To 
them  might  be  added  the  religious  and  the 
educational.  But  religion  as  such  plays  a  very 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  23 

insignificant  part  in  the  life  of  the  Chinese. 
Confucianism  hardly  deserves  to  be  called  re- 
ligion. Confucius  had  little  to  say  about  gods. 
As  a  system  of  ethics,  Confucianism  had  an 
inexpressible  influence,  —  an  influence  which 
has,  on  the  whole,  been  paralyzing  to  the  intel- 
lect, not  inspiring  to  the  conscience  or  moving 
to  the  will.  Outside  of  Confucianism  there  is 
no  religious  liberty.  Education  has  the  highest 
place  among  the  forces  making  for  China's  en- 
largement. Although  I  shall  write  of  education 
in  another  chapter,  yet  it  is  to  be  said  com- 
prehensively that,  though  scholarship  fulfills 
a  noble  function  in  Chinese  thought,  and 
the  scholar  is  greatly  honored,  yet  the  educa- 
tion of  the  people  has  not  been  the  thought 
or  the  wish  of  the  governing  powers.  At  the 
present  time,  the  government  is  establishing 
schools;  but  it  is  greatly  limited  in  the  work 
by  the  scarcity  of  teachers. 

The  problem,  therefore,  which  China  has 
set  for  herself,  or  rather  which  the  world  has 
set  for  her,  of  civilization,  is  as  difficult  as  it 
is  comprehensive.  Can  China  become  civilized 


24  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

within  a  time  for  which  the  mind  of  man 
properly  takes  calculations?  The  answer  in- 
volves many  considerations.  At  best,  too,  the 
answer  would  be  remote  from  conclusiveness. 
In  favor  of  an  affirmative  answer  several 
considerations  may  be  intimated  :  — 

(1)  China  has  rich  natural  resources.  I  have 
in  my  journeying  just  passed  one  of  the  richest 
iron  deposits  in  the  world.  The  natural  re- 
sources in  the  form  of  metals  are  largely  un- 
explored, but  exploration  has  gone  far  enough 
to  show  that  these  resources  are  very  valu- 
able. The  soil  is  usually  poor ;  it  is,  like  sec- 
tions of  Spain,  worn  out  by  centuries  of  cul- 
tivation. 

(2)  The  climate  is,  on  the  whole,  good, 
especially  in  the  north.  The  territory  covers 
many  degrees  of  latitude,  and  offers  a  variety 
of  heat  and  cold,  most  promotive  of  good  re- 
sults to  humanity. 

(3)  The  race  is  virile.  Of  good  stature,  it 
has  good  strength.  Given  a  fair  chance,  it 
would  develop  rapidly. 

(4)  The  nation  has  a  great  literature,  the 


THE   PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  25 

gift  of  many  and  remote  centuries.  Such  a 
literature  is  a  noble  foundation  for  humanity's 
highest  achievements. 

(5)  Likewise  the  nation  honors  scholarship. 
The  scholarly  ideal  is  vastly  more  influential 
than  the  materialistic.  The  learned  man  is 
more  honored  than  the  rich  man. 

(6)  Further,  the  Chinese  merchant  or  man- 
ufacturer is  distinguished  for  his  honesty. 
Commercial  integrity  is  a  cause  and  safeguard 
of  national  honor. 

(7)  China  is  so  situated  that  the  best  in- 
fluences (the  worst,  too)  of  the  more  advanc- 
ing Western  nations  are  now  working  upon 
her  provinces  and  peoples. 

But  there  are  certain  reasons,  and  strong 
ones,  making  for  the  conclusion  that  China 
will  not  take  her  place  among  the  great 
powers. 

First,  China  is  Asiatic.  The  division  be- 
tween Asia  and  Europe  in  ethnology,  in  reli- 
gion, and  in  civilization  is  deep  and  wide.  "  East 
is  East  and  West  is  West."  No  man  of  West- 
ern Europe  can  quite  appreciate  the  width  and 


26  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

depth  of  the  chasm  separating  these  two  parts 
of  the  one  great  ancient  continent. 

Second,  China  is  not  only  Asiatic,  she  is 
also  Chinese.  Her  civilization  is  unique.  Hu- 
manity has  come  forth  in  the  nation  in 
most  individualistic,  personal,  and  national 
forms. 

Third,  China  is  conservative.  Her  golden 
age  lies  in  the  past.  Her  eye  is  fixed  upon  the 
treasures  of  her  history  rather  than  upon  the 
development  of  her  present  and  future. 

Fourth,  China  is  not  only  conservative,  she 
is  also  the  largest  nation.  She  represents  more 
than  one  fourth  of  the  entire  population  of 
the  world.  Any  influence  or  force  to  affect 
her  vast  and  conservative  body  is,  necessarily, 
of  a  tremendous  impact.  It  is  a  difficult  thing 
to  think  of  a  force  sufficiently  moving  to  make 
an  impression. 

Fifth,  the  Chinese  government  and  adminis- 
tration are  intricate  and  complex.  The  govern- 
ment is,  as  I  have  said,  a  union  of  a  political 
autocracy  and  a  social  democracy.  The  admin- 
istration is  a  matter,  not  of  written  rule,  but 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  27 

of  personal  adjustment  and  agreement.  The 
method  of  yesterday  is  not  that  of  to-day, 
and  the  method  of  to-day  is  unlike  that  of 
to-morrow.  Any  change,  therefore,  in  the 
permanent  elements  of  its  civilization,  gov- 
ernment, and  administration  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  achieve. 

Sixth,  withal  the  Chinese  mind  is  astute. 
Loyal  to  China  and  to  her  history,  it  easily 
seeks  to  circumvent  influences  opposed  to 
itself,  and  is  quickly  and  keenly  aroused  to 
oppose  whatever  force  may  be  brought  against 
its  national  integrity. 

When  one  sums  up  the  reasons  for  and  the 
reasons  against  the  belief  that  China  may  take 
her  place  among  the  great  and  active  powers 
of  the  world,  one  feels  in  great  doubt.  No  one 
knows  what  may  occur  in  that  country.  Dynas- 
ties rise  and  fall,  and  the  Manchus  still  retain 
their  place.  An  infant  emperor  seems  to  be 
quite  as  powerful  as  an  empress  dowager  of 
threescore  years  and  ten.  Present  intimations 
are,  on  the  whole,  favorable  to  the  belief  that 
China  will  still  be  China,  and  will  be  for  the 


28  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Chinese  a  thousand  years  from  this  time  quite 
as  truly  as  to-day. 

IN  KOREA 

The  problem  of  and  in  Korea  is  triangu- 
lar: it  may  be  interpreted  from  three  sides, 
—  Japan's,  Korea's,  and  the  world's. 

Seen  from  the  side  of  Japan,  the  Korean 
problem  should  be  so  solved  that  the  penin- 
sula shall  never  become  a  point  of  military  or 
governmental  peril.  The  phrase,  "A  general 
war  in  the  Far  East"  may  be  as  indefinite 
and  as  frequent  as  the  phrase  "a  general 
European  war";  but  in  the  event  of  such  a 
conflict  it  is  of  extreme  importance  that  all 
conditions  in  Korea  —  governmental,  naval, 
military,  social  —  should  favor  Japan.  In  case 
of  hostility,  Fusan  and  Chemulpho  would 
prove  to  be  excellent  ports  for  assembling 
forces  to  descend  upon  Moji  or  Nagasaki. 
Korea  must  be  safe  for  Japan's  interests. 

Further,  Japan  desires  that  Korea  be  made 
a  favorable  territory  for  the  immigration  of 
her  rapidly  growing  population,  and  for  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  29 

use  and  increase  of  her  capital.  Already  Jap- 
anese farmers  are  passing  over.  Already  are 
the  numbers  of  these  immigrants  so  great  as 
to  prompt  the  Japanese  churches  to  send  mis- 
sionaries to  evangelize  their  own  countrymen 
living  on  this  foreign  soil.  Korea  is,  also, 
financially  a  belated  land  and  nation.  Capital, 
either  Japanese  or  American  or  EngUsh,  now 
properly  invested,  would  return  a  large  income. 
To  this  fact  Japan  is  not  blind. 

Moreover,  in  her  desire  for  national  aggran- 
dizement Japan  may  worthily  regard  the  Ko- 
rean peninsula  as  a  proper  field  for  the  exten- 
sion of  her  power.  Upon  this  critical  point 
only  the  most  general  interpretation  is  per- 
missible. Japan  realizes  what  is  her  duty  to 
and  in  Korea  to-day,  but  what  may  be  her 
duty  to-morrow  she  knows  not.  Annexation  is 
sometimes  spoken  of.  But  Japan  knows  that 
annexation  at  the  present  time,  under  present 
conditions,  is  not  a  duty  or  even  a  right,  and 
would  now  prove  most  inopportune.  There 
is  in  Japan  a  strong  pro-Japanese  party  in 
relation  to  Korea;  there  is  also  a  party  be- 


30  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

lieving  in  such  a  control  of  the  peninsula  as 
should  primarily  prove  to  be  of  benefit  to  the 
peninsula  itself.  The  Japanese  government, 
sending  its  ablest  minister  as  Resident-General, 
is  willing  to  await  the  future. 

Prince  Ito  has  a  policy  very  clear  in  at 
least  one  respect,  —  he  proposes  to  keep  the 
peace,  and  he  proposes  to  keep  the  peace  by 
peaceful  measures.  In  the  more  or  less  trou- 
bled condition  of  the  country,  the  outlawry 
element  is  sure  to  emerge.  "  The  righteous 
soldiers,"  as  some  of  the  discharged  Korean 
forces  call  themselves,  create  havoc, — guerilla 
bands  attacking  villages,  destroying  railroad 
stations  and  tracks,  easily  mobilized  and  dis- 
persing like  a  morning  fog.  Conflicts  between 
such  bands,  when  they  can  be  found,  and  Jap- 
anese battalions  are  for  a  time  inevitable.  But 
Ito's  policy  is  plain ;  his  administration  is 
civil,  and  not,  as  he  might  easily  make  it, 
military.  He  does  not  seek  peace,  as  the  motto 
of  the  great  Puritan  Commonwealth  indicates, 
with  the  sword. 

Korea's  problem,  interpreted   by   herself, 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  31 

is  the  problem  of  how  she  can  save  herself. 
Lying  in  the  problem  is  the  question  what 
has  she  that  is  worth  saving  ?  For  has  she  not 
really  already  lost  herself  ?  She  illustrates  the 
remark  of  Christ,  "From  him  that  hath  not 
shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath." 
Korea  has  rich  resources  of  nature.  But  she 
has  no  resources  in  herself.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
commonwealths  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
have  in  every  emergency  found  themselves 
possessed  of  men  who  could  bring  order  out 
of  confusion  and  snatch  victory  from  the 
jaws  of  seeming  disaster.  In  her  crises  Ko- 
rea for  three  hundred  years  has  found  herself 
without  wise  and  sacrificing  leadership.  To- 
day she  is  left  alone.  Keeping  herself  to  her- 
self, —  a  hermit  nation,  —  she  represents  the 
penalty  of  selfishness,  —  poverty  and  friend- 
lessness.  Her  army  stood  for  inefficiency,  and 
it  is  now  disbanded.  Her  manufactures  were 
and  are  left  untouched  by  modern  discoveries 
and  processes,  and  they  have  largely  perished. 
Her  people,  despite  the  efforts  of  missionaries 
and  a  few  enlightened  leaders,  are  still  sub- 


32  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

merged  in  ignorance  and  in  social  and  reli- 
gious superstition.  The  social  distinctions  of 
classes  are  an  encumbrance.  Ofi&ces  were  in 
no  small  degree  drafts  on  the  public  chest, 
and  not  symbols  of  service.  Indolence  was 
and  is  customary  with  officials  and  constitu- 
tional with  the  gentry.  Truthfulness  is  for- 
eign to  the  Korean's  nature.  Korea  may  well 
ask  herself  what  has  she  still  left  worth  the 
saving.  The  shores  of  Japan  are  as  rocky  as 
those  of  Korea,  and  her  soil  is  no  more  fer- 
tile, but  she,  with  her  islands,  has  made  her- 
self one  of  the  great  powers.  Korea's  fault  is 
not  with  her  stars,  but  with  herself,  that  she 
is  an  underling  of  Japan.  She  lacks  men.  Her 
own  men  can  be  her  only  saviors,  and  if  she 
calls  for  them,  they  do  not  respond.  Indeed, 
her  old  deposed  Emperor  had  hardly  strength 
to  call.  If  the  new  Emperor  proves  to  have 
strength  and  knows  the  needs  of  his  country, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  he  can  summon  asso- 
ciates able  these  needs  to  fill. 

There  is  a  victory  which   the  conquered 
may  always  win  over  the  martial  conqueror, 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  33 

if  he  has  the  strength.  It  is  the  victory  of 
language,  of  social  customs  and  manners,  of 
life  itself.  Such  a  victory  Italy  won  over  the 
conquering  Northern  tribes;  such  a  victory 
the  Saxons  won  over  the  Normans.  But  Korea 
lacks  the  power,  the  acumen,  the  wisdom,  and 
the  superiority  of  individual  and  of  nation 
necessary  for  gaining  such  a  conquest.  She 
has  lost  herself.  Her  foe  is  not  Japan,  or 
Western  civilization,  but  herself. 

The  Korean  problem  is  also  a  question  in 
which  the  world  is  interested.  The  world 
is  daily  becoming  smaller.  Swifter,  cheaper, 
and  more  frequent  inter-communication  has 
made  it  a  little  neighborhood  of  nations.  The 
concerns  of  each  are  the  concerns  of  all,  and 
the  concerns  of  all  are  the  concerns  of  each. 
The  lot  of  Korea,  therefore,  has  interest  for 
every  people,  of  the  Occident  as  well  as  of  the 
Orient.  The  world  is  watching  Korea,  to  dis- 
cover the  justice  or  injustice,  the  wisdom  or  the 
foolishness,  of  the  Japanese  protectorate.  The 
stronger  nations  of  the  earth  have  come  into  a 
period  of  governing  the  weaker.  Each,  there- 


34  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

fore,  is  interested  in  the  success  or  failure  of 
every  attempt  at  affiliation,  colonization,  or 
"protection."  The  world  has  peculiar  interest 
in  this  relationship  of  Japan  to  Korea,  not 
only  because  of  Korea,  but  also  and  more  be- 
cause of  Japan.  Will  this  relationship  increase 
or  diminish  Japan's  prestige  as  a  world-power? 
In  the  balance  of  powers,  which  may  become 
as  important  for  the  Far  East  as  it  has  been 
important  in  Europe,  will  Japan  through  this 
suzerainty  be  able  to  secure  a  weight  of  in- 
fluence and  of  force  which  may  constitute  a 
peril  for  the  peace  of  the  world?  Every  lover 
of  his  race  is  concerned  in  the  answer.  The 
world  is  also  watching  the  movement  of  Japan 
in  Korea  because  of  the  growing  belief  that 
the  process  of  uniting  small  nations  with  or 
into  large  has,  with  such  exceptions  as  South 
America  may  offer  in  her  republics,  gone  as 
far  as  it  is  well  for  it  to  go.  United  Italy, 
United  Germany,  have  meant  much  to  civili- 
zation. But  the  making  of  Korea  into  a  pro- 
vince of  Japan  would  represent  the  blotting 
out  of  an  ancient  people,  and  the  absorption 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  35 

of  its  institutions  into  the  institutions  of 
another  and  an  advancing  people.  Such  an 
absorption  could  not  prove  to  be  an  enrich- 
ment of  the  forces  of  the  world's  civiliza- 
tion. 

Yet  one  cannot  but  feel  that  Korea's  doom 
as  a  nation  is  certain.  The  day  of  her  national 
fate  may  be  long  deferred,  but  unless  causes 
which  have  not  yet  appeared  above  the  horizon 
emerge,  it  seems  inevitable  that  she  finally 
must  cease  to  be  an  independent  people  even 
in  name.  She  has  sinned  away  her  day  of 
grace.  Her  little  peninsula  lies  thrust  down 
between  Japan  and  China.  Without  ruling 
either,  she  has  been  dependent  on  both.  To-day 
Japan  is  her  master.  To-morrow  the  mightier 
nation  of  China  may  control. 

I  write  these  paragraphs  on  a  voyage  up 
the  western  coast  of  Korea  on  my  way  to 
China.  The  hills  are  bare,  the  rocks  precipi- 
tous, and  the  islands  barren.  The  scene  is 
desolate  and  forbidding.  The  panorama  seems 
to  be  a  figure  of  the  probable  future  of  the 
hermit  kingdom. 


36  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

IN  INDIA 

India's  problem  is  the  problem  of  discon- 
tent. India  is  becoming  discontented  with 
English  rule  and  tired  of  the  Englishman. 
This  condition  approaches  disaffection,  and 
in  some  parts  borders  on  sedition.  Another 
"mutiny"  is  by  some  prophesied.  How  deep 
or  how  widespread  is  this  discontent  is  not 
known,  and  no  system  of  espionage  seems 
able  to  discover.  This  feeling  arises  from 
permanent  causes.  Special  causes  augment 
the  unrest,  and  they  deserve  weighing,  yet 
they  are  not  deeply  significant.  These  special 
causes  are  found  largely  in  the  last  months 
of  Lord  Curzon's  great  administration.  That 
administration  was  great,  great  in  achieve- 
ment, greater  in  promise;  and  yet  its  close 
was  marked  by  some  blunders  which  will  for 
decades  seriously  impair  its  beneficence.  In 
these  blunders  lie  the  immediate  origins  of 
the  unrest. 

The  impression  was  made  by  Lord  Curzon 
that  he  desired  to  limit  university  privileges, 


THE  PROBLEM   OF  THE  EAST  37 

rights,  and  opportunities  for  Indian  students. 
The  special  point  was  that  the  Viceroy  wished 
to  curtail  the  number  of  men  who  might  re- 
ceive the  first  degree  of  B.  A.  at  the  universi- 
ties of  India.  The  fact  that  this  interpretation 
was  not  a  correct  understanding  of  the  purpose 
of  the  Viceroy  did  not  at  all  serve  to  lessen 
its  evil  influence  in  stirring  the  national  heart. 
Curzon's  purpose  was  not  to  lessen  the  number 
of  liberally  educated  and  degree-bearing  men, 
but  rather  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  edu- 
cation which  they  were  getting,  and  to  increase 
the  value  of  the  degree  which  they  were  re- 
ceiving. But  through  some  unhappiness  of 
statement  the  impression  was  made  that  it 
was  the  purpose  of  the  governing  powers  to 
limit  the  opportunities  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion. 

A  second  cause  lay  also  in  a  certain,  at 
least,  infelicity  of  statement  (to  use  a  weak 
word)  of  the  Viceroy.  In  an  address  he  made 
at  the  convocation  of  the  University  of  Cal- 
cutta, in  1905,  a  contrast  was  drawn  between 
the  honesty,  truthfulness,  and  similar  virtues 


38  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

of  the  students  and  peoples  of  the  West  and 
the  lack  of  these  same  virtues  in  the  peoples  of 
Asia.  The  intimation  thus  suggested  awakened 
deep  and  widespread  indignation.  Whether 
the  intimation  was  or  is  true  or  false  need 
not  be  discussed,  but  its  simple  making  was 
sufficient  to  stir  the  hearts  of  the  academic 
and  general  community. 

A  third  cause,  which  was  largely  or  wholly 
political,  as  were  the  first  two  academic,  was 
the  division  of  the  province  of  Bengal  into 
two  provinces  for  administrative  purposes. 
The  Bengalese  are  a  homogeneous  people,  of 
the  number  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States.  It  may  have  been  expedient  or  neces- 
sary for  governmental  reasons  to  separate  a 
population  of  eighty  millions  into  two  bodies. 
But  the  methods  which  were  used  in  effecting 
this  great  division  awakened  intense  and  bitter 
feeling.  "Partition  Day"  is  still  celebrated  as 
a  day  of  humiliation. 

These  three  causes  have  served  to  empha- 
size the  permanent  conditions  which  result  in 
political  and  social  discontent.  These  perma- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  39 

nent  conditions  are  still  more  significant  and 
impressive. 

The  first  and  more  evident  cause  lies  in  the 
natural  desire  of  a  people  for  self-government. 
It  has  been  said  of  the  Koreans  that  they 
desire  to  be  in  subjection  to  some  superior 
power.  The  remark  is  probably  false.  If  at 
all  true,  Korea  is  the  first  nation  of  impor- 
tance which  desired  to  be  a  subject  nation. 
India,  through  her  hundreds  of  tribes  and 
clans,  desires  to  rule  herself.  The  desire  is  hu- 
man, natural,  inevitable.  This  desire  has  been 
increased  by  the  study  of  English  constitu- 
tional and  political  history.  This  study  is 
among  the  most  common  subjects  of  the 
schools  and  colleges.  England  has  not  been 
afraid  to  teach  the  truth  regarding  the  growth 
of  political  freedom  to  this  subject  race.  I 
have  heard  the  president  of  a  college  in  Cal- 
cutta discuss  Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 
with  his  senior  students.  Such  lessons  are 
as  the  seeds  of  democracy. 

A  second  cause  of  unrest  lies  in  the  in- 
creasing ability  of  the  people  for  governing 


40  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

themselves.  Of  this  increasing  ability  they 
themselves  are  conscious,  and  of  the  growth 
of  this  power  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Whether 
this  power  has  become  sufficiently  great  to 
allow  self-government  is  the  vital  question, 
about  which  those  who  have  a  right  to  an 
opinion  differ.  But  the  point  of  the  conten- 
tion is  that  this  ability,  even  if  still  insuf- 
ficient to  permit  self-government,  is  growing, 
and  this  simple  growth  is  an  ample  cause  of 
unrest.  India  no  longer  represents  a  remote 
paganism.  All,  or  many,  of  the  material  forces 
of  civilization  move  over  her  plains,  through 
the  streets  of  her  cities,  and  in  the  homes  of 
her  people.  Steam  railroads,  street  railroads, 
telegraphs,  telephones,  and  electric  lights  are 
more  common  than  in  Spain  or  even  Italy. 
The  intellectual  forces,  too,  are  not  wanting. 
Calcutta  has  more  bookshops  and  larger  ones 
than  Boston.  Within  less  than  a  mile  of  Col- 
lege Square,  Calcutta,  are  at  least  three  thou- 
sand college  students.  Colleges  and  schools 
preparatory  to  them,  established  by  the  gov- 
ernment, by  missionary  organization,  and  by 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  41 

private  beneficence,  are  numerous  and,  be  it 
added,  some  of  them  are  of  an  architectural 
impressiveness  —  such  as  Muir  College  at  Al- 
lahabad and  the  Martiniere  College  at  Luck- 
now —  which  is  seldom  seen  in  the  United 
States.  All  that  education  represents,  England 
is  giving,  directly,  or  indirectly,  to  India. 
The  gift  bears  richer  knowledge,  increased 
intellectual  discipline,  enlarged  judgment, 
more  facile  power  of  concentration.  Receiving 
these  noblest  advantages,  the  leaders  of  the 
people  realize  their  increased  ability  for  self- 
government,  and  are  restless  at  the  closing  of 
the  door  of  opportunity  for  exercising  it. 

A  still  further  reason  exists,  which  is,  in 
a  way,  the  very  opposite  of  the  cause  just 
named :  the  general  and  profound  ignorance 
of  the  people.  How  general  and  how  deep 
this  ignorance  still  is  seems  incomprehensible. 
In  round  numbers,  out  of  India's  more  than 
three  hundred  millions,  of  the  men,  not  more 
than  ten  in  a  hundred  can  read  and  write, 
and  of  the  women,  not  more  than  seven  in 
a  thousand.    This   most   significant  fact  is 


42  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

made  yet  more  impressive  by  a  statement  of 
the  illiteracy  in  the  several  provinces. 

Province  ob  State.  No.  of  Persons  per  1000 

able  to  bead  and  wbitb. 

Males.  Females. 

Burma 378  45 

Travancore 215  31 

Baroda 163  8 

Madras 119  9 

Bombay 116  9 

Bengal 104  5 

Mysore 93  8 

Berdr 85  3 

Assam 67  4 

Punjab 64  3 

Kajputana 62  2 

United  Provinces     ....  67  2 

Central  India 65  3 

Hyderabad 65  3 

Central  Provinces   ....  54  2 

Kashmir 38  1 

The  simple  fact  is  that  India  is  still  a  nation 
of  illiterates.  Now  illiteracy  is  not  in  itself  so 
bad  a  thing  as  is  commonly  believed ;  but  the 
significance  of  illiteracy  is  an  even  worse  thing 
than  is  commonly  thought.  Illiteracy  stands 
for  narrowness  of  intellectual  outlook,  preju- 
dice, superstition,  unreasonableness.  Such  con- 
ditions obtain  in  India  as  results  of  her  illiteracy 
and  allied  deficiencies.    Such  results  in  turn 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  43 

become  causes  of  unrest.  To  illustrate :  if 
there  be  one  thing  in  which  England  could 
justly  be  happy,  it  is  her  endeavor  to  pro- 
mote the  health  of  this  people.  Plagues  and 
"the  plague"  she  has  sought  to  stamp  out, 
and  has  largely  succeeded.  In  this  suppression 
she  has  built  many  hospitals.  In  one  city  in 
which  a  plague  hospital  was  built,  and  to 
which  the  victims  of  the  disease,  to  prevent 
its  spreading,  were  brought,  the  people  got 
the  idea  that  the  English  doctors  were  collect- 
ing these  sick  folks  as  messengers  in  order 
to  send  out  the  disease  all  over  the  country. 
Concentration,  it  was  thought,  meant  dissemi- 
nation of  the  evil.  People  thus  ignorant,  pre- 
judiced, placed  in  a  community  more  or  less 
modern,  cannot  but  promote  social  and  other 
restlessness. 

A  fourth  cause  of  unrest  lies  in  what  one 
may  call  the  lack  of  sympathy  of  the  English 
residents  of  India  with  the  native  peoples. 
I  have  purposely  selected  a  comprehensive 
phrase,  lack  of  sympathy,  to  represent  the 
relation  of  the  governing  to  the  governed 


44  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

class.  In  some  cases  this  lack  of  sympathy 
becomes  absolute  despising,  even  resulting 
in  physical  suffering.  From  this  lowest  point 
it  rises,  through  various  degrees  of  indiffer- 
ence, to  respectful  remoteness.  But,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  Englishman  bears  himself  to- 
ward the  East  Indian  as  superior  to  inferior.  I 
am  not  saying  that  the  Englishman  is  or  is  not 
superior,  —  of  course,  as  a  class  he  is.  But, 
despite  this  difference,  it  would  be  possible 
for  the  superior  to  have  and  to  show  more 
sympathy  for  and  with  the  native.  This  need, 
be  it  added,  is  one  to  which  the  Prince  of 
Wales  alluded  in  an  address  made  on  his  return 
from  his  recent  visit  to  India.  The  substance 
of  all  this  interpretation  is  that  the  East  In- 
dian, finding  no  sympathy  for  himself  on  the 
part  of  his  governors,  is  inclined  toward  dis- 
satisfaction with  their  government.  Of  course, 
one  may  say  that  it  is  not  the  function  of  gov- 
ernors to  show  sympathy  with  their  subjects ; 
of  course,  also,  one  may  add  that  it  is  not  the 
nature  of  the  Englishman  to  show  sympathy. 
To  the  first  remark  one  may  reply  in  saying 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  45 

that  sympathy  might  possibly  add  to  the  justice 
of  the  government  of  Englishmen,  through 
a  more  complete  understanding;  and  to  the 
second  remark  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the 
Indian  administration  of  the  great  Lord  Ripon 
proves  both  the  fact  and  the  value  of  sympathy 
in  the  government  of  subject  peoples. 

Moreover,  beneath  this  quartet  of  lasting 
causes  of  discontent  lies  the  great  sense  of 
national  consciousness.  This  sense  increases 
and  deepens.  The  belief  that  India,  with  her 
population  of  three  hundred  millions,  though 
divided  by  differences  in  religion  and  in  lan- 
guage, is  one,  —  one  in  place,  one  in  destiny, 
— is  a  belief  which  grows  with  the  growing 
years.  India  for  the  Indians  is  an  increas- 
ingly potent  and  persuasive  rallying-cry.  The 
cry  is  heard,  with  a  certain  note  of  shrill 
insistence,  in  native  newspapers.  It  is  felt 
in  certain  Christian  missionary  movements 
in  which  "  Indian  management,  Indian  men, 
and  Indian  money"  represent  the  method  and 
force  of  propagandism.  It  is  further  heard 
in  private  conversation.  Nor  is  this  note  of 


46  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

national  emphasis  confined  to  the  native 
people.  It  belongs  to  not  a  few  Englishmen 
whose  present  home  is  in  Calcutta,  Madras,  or 
Delhi. 

Yet  this  feeling  of  national  consciousness 
among  the  Indians  is  one  over  which  every 
great  lover  of  humanity  must  rejoice.  It  re- 
presents life,  vision,  struggle.  It  intimates  that 
lethargy,  stagnation,  is  passing.  India,  like 
China,  awakens.  A  nation  takes  a  worthier 
place  in  the  great  brotherhood  of  nations, 
when  the  sense  of  its  own  integrity  and  in- 
dividuahty  is  the  keener  and  more  adequate. 
^^ India  for  the  Indians"  is  a  method  of  trans- 
muting it  into  India  for  the  world. 

England  has  for  herself,  both  consciously 
and  unconsciously,  been  the  cause  of  this 
growth  of  national  consciousness.  It  may  be 
called  either  blameworthiness  or  credit,  but 
the  fact  is  clear  enough.  England  has  been 
the  schoolmaster  of  India.  She  has  built  the 
schoolhouse,  the  college  and  university  hall. 
She  has  introduced  her  own  education,  for 
better  or  for  worse,  into  municipality  and  vil- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  47 

lage  community.  In  method,  in  content  of 
instruction,  in  administration,  the  education 
which  England  has  offered  India  has  been 
largely  English  education.  Now  the  most 
fundamental  note  in  such  an  education  on  its 
historical  side  has  been  and  still  is  the  note 
of  political  freedom.  The  history  of  England 
has  fittingly  formed  a  part  of  the  course  of 
study.  The  chief  lesson,  of  many  great  lessons 
to  be  derived  from  such  a  study,  is  the  lesson 
of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  principle  of 
freedom  in  the  state  and  for  its  citizens.  Can 
any  one  for  a  moment  think  that  such  a  lesson 
had  no  relation  to  England's  Indian  subjects  ? 
Minds  far  less  acute  than  the  Hindu  intellect 
could  not  be  deaf  or  blind  or  unappreciative 
of  such  teaching.  That  political  liberty  is  a 
growth,  that  civil  conditions  necessary  for 
England  might  not  be  at  all  fitted  to  India, 
represent  discriminations  which  might  not  be 
apprehended  by  the  Indian  mind.  But  the 
Indian  mind  did  and  still  does  believe  that  the 
liberty  which  is  at  once  cause  and  result  of 
England's  greatness  is  also  good  for  England's 


48  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

possession  in  Asia.  Such  a  belief  is  one  of  the 
inevitable  results  of  the  education  which  Eng- 
land has  offered  and  is  offering  her  Indian 
subjects;  and  such  a  belief  also  inevitably 
tends  to  deepen  and  to  enlarge  the  national 
consciousness. 

This  consciousness  is  also  promoted  by  the 
industrial  development  of  the  country.  The 
development  is  still  feeble  enough.  But  it  is 
beginning.  Its  possibilities  no  one  knows.  For 
no  proper  scientific  investigation  has  been 
made  of  the  mineral  resources.  It  is  thought 
by  some  that  these  resources  are  exceedingly 
rich.  But  the  very  possibility  of  great  wealth 
lying  beneath  the  soil,  together  with  the  ac- 
tual establishment  of  some  great  iron  and 
steel  works,  has  been  sufficient  to  promote 
somewhat  the  sense  of  the  national  conscious- 
ness. 

One  can  hardly  close  this  interpretation 
without  alluding  to  a  somewhat  singular  phe- 
nomenon which  constantly  thrusts  itself  upon 
the  observer.  This  phenomenon  is  the  mani- 
festation, on  the  part  of  both  Englishmen  in 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  49 

India  and  the  natives,  of  a  keen  consciousness 
of  the  anomalousness  of  England  being  at  all 
in  India.  England  is  in  India  to-day  because 
she  was  in  India  yesterday ;  she  will  be  in  India 
to-morrow  because  she  is  there  to-day.  To  the 
ordinary  Indian  or  Enghshman  the  historic 
reasons  which  have  obliged  —  some  would  say 
obliged  is  too  strong  a  word — England  to 
come  and  to  stay  in  India  are  not  evident. 
On  the  face  of  the  whole  condition,  both 
races  would  affirm  that  the  white  man  does 
not  belong  in  the  land  of  the  brown  man. 
This  self -consciousness  is  simply  an  intellec- 
tual interpretation  and  an  emotional  impression 
of  this  entire  condition.  The  Indian  talks 
and  writes  in  his  many  vernacular  newspapers 
regarding  the  Englishman  in  India.  Appar- 
ently no  phase  is  omitted.  The  English  pa- 
pers are  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  free  in  the 
same  racial,  personal,  and  governmental  discus- 
sion. The  discussion  seems  curiously  akin  to 
the  editorial  writing  on  slavery  printed  in  the 
Southern  papers  of  the  United  States  in  the 
decade  preceding  the  Civil  War. 


50  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

IN  EGYPT 

The  Egyptian  problem  is  not  the  problem 
of  political  independence,  as  the  Nationalist 
party  declares ;  nor  is  it  the  problem  of  unit- 
ing all  religions  into  one  faith,  be  that  faith 
Protestant,  Coptic,  or  Mohammedan ;  neither 
is  it  to  develop  more  and  other  industries,  as 
building  railroads  or  factories  to  use  up  Egyp- 
tian cotton.  Each  of  these  purposes  represents 
large  and  serious  undertakings.  The  compre- 
hensive problem,  however,  of  Egypt  is  three- 
fold: to  increase  the  industrial  and  agricul- 
tural efficiency  of  the  people,  to  ennoble  the 
home,  and  to  promote  the  confidence  of  the 
people  in  one  another.  These  three  elements 
may  be  embraced  in  a  single  principle,  —  the 
enlargement  of  the  worth  of  every  individual 
of  the  twelve  millions  forming  the  Egyptian 
nation. 

This  problem,  whether  considered  in  its 
threefold  or  in  its  single  relation,  is  the  prob- 
lem of  a  better  and  more  general  education. 
An  education  better  and  more  general  would 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  51 

enlarge  the  worth  of  the  individual ;  it  would 
also  increase  agricultural  and  industrial  effi- 
ciency; it  would  contribute  to  the  ennoble- 
ment of  the  family ;  and  it  would,  further,  pro- 
mote the  sense  of  mutual  confidence.  What 
other  is  the  aim  of  education  than  the  achieve- 
ment of  such  comprehensive  and  fundamental 
purposes  ? 

The  condition  of  education  in  all  Moham- 
medan countries  is  bad.  In  both  India  and 
Egypt  the  condition  is  peculiarly  wretched. 
The  Mohammedan  people  have  made  their 
education  narrowly  religious.  The  education 
given  by  the  Egyptian  government  is  not  so 
inefficient  as  that  offered  under  the  directly 
Mohammedan  authorities;  but  the  fact  that 
for  one  dollar  spent  on  education  the  govern- 
ment spends  sixteen  for  other  purposes,  inti- 
mates the  low  estimate  in  which  education 
languishes.  Of  eight  dollars  Prussia  spends 
one  for  education  and  seven  for  all  other 
purposes.  Besides  the  governmental  and  the 
Mohammedan  schools,  are  established  various 
mission  schools,  both  English  and  American, 


62  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Among  the  American  schools  those  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  are  especially  vig- 
orous and  useful. 

The  government  is  aware  that  it  is  not 
doing  for  and  through  education  what  ought 
to  be  done.  The  annual  reports  of  Lord  Cro- 
mer are  constantly  and  movingly  filled  with 
the  expressions  of  the  educational  duties  rest- 
ing on  the  controlling  authorities.  There  are 
two  points  to  which  education  by  the  gov- 
ernment is  particularly  directed,  primary  and 
technical.  Every  child  in  Egypt  should  be 
taught  to  read,  write,  and  cipher,  and  all  or- 
dinary boys  should  be  trained  to  be  either 
good  farmers,  good  carpenters,  good  black- 
smiths, or  to  follow  other  necessary  trades. 
Some  also  should  be  trained  as  engineers,  for 
the  higher  relationships  of  the  great  business 
of  engineering.  The  need  of  engineers  in 
Egypt  is  not  great.  Egypt  is  and  must  remain 
primarily  an  agricultural  country.  It  cannot 
become  primarily  an  industrial  community, 
despite  the  claims  of  the  Nationalist  party. 
It  lacks  coal.  A  cotton  factory  has  lately  been 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  63 

torn  down  and  its  machinery  sent  out  of  the 
country.  Manchester  can  sell  goods  in  Cairo 
and  Luxor  cheaper  than  Cairo  or  Luxor  can 
make  them.  But  Egypt,  being  such  an  agri- 
cultural country  as  it  is,  and  the  eternal  and 
omnipresent  Nile  present  serious  problems  of 
irrigation.  For  thousands  of  years  these  prob- 
lems of  irrigation  have  been  the  principal  en- 
gineering problems,  and  principal  they  will 
continue  to  be.  The  Polytechnic  School  lo- 
cated halfway  between  the  city  of  Cairo  and 
the  Pyramid  of  Cheops  is,  chiefly  under  Eng- 
lish supervision,  making  good  engineers. 

The  greatest  development  on  the  industrial 
side  of  education  is  found  in  the  trade-schools. 
These  schools  are  established  in  Cairo  and 
other  centres,  and  the  government  is  seeking 
to  establish  many  others.  These  schools  train 
machinists,  carpenters,  painters,  and  workmen 
of  other  trades.  The  boys  enter  at  an  early 
age.  As  a  class  they  are  apt,  interested,  and 
fairly  efficient.  The  practical  aim  dominates, 
and  practical  methods  prevail.  In  a  school  of 
Cairo,  which  I  found  efficiently  administered, 


54  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

one  element  seemed  to  be  especially  promi- 
nent :  the  putting  the  boys  to  work  in  filling 
actual  orders  for  goods, —  cabinets,  saddles, 
postmen's  bags,  wagons,  and  street  letter-boxes. 
The  money  thus  earned,  though  actually  small, 
seemed  to  serve  to  quicken  the  interest  of  the 
boys  in  their  work,  and  not  at  all  to  limit  their 
immediate  efficiency  or  their  future  worth. 

In  these  manual  schools  and,  in  fact,  in 
all  schools,  the  government  finds  difficulty 
in  securing  a  sufficient  number  of  properly 
trained  teachers.  Egypt  thus  suffers  as  does 
China.  Normal  schools  are  estabHshed,  but 
the  number  of  graduates  does  not  fill  the  in- 
creasing needs.  The  desire  for  education  all 
over  the  world,  indeed,  goes  far  beyond  the 
means  of  satisfying  it.  The  need,  too,  of 
teachers  of  large  character  and  of  advanced 
training  seems  to  be  quite  as  urgent  as  the 
need  of  a  greater  number  of  teachers. 

Education  in  Egypt  of  every  grade  labors 
under  the  heavy  difficulty  of  the  tradition  of 
an  evil  method.  The  tradition  represents  the 
dominance  of  the  memory.  To  learn  without 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  55 

reasoning  has  long  been  the  popular  method. 
Knowledge,  not  training,  not  power,  has  re- 
presented, and  still  represents,  the  educational 
ideal.  The  pupils  as  the  pail,  the  school  as  the 
pump,  the  teacher  at  the  pump  handle,  and 
the  water  of  the  well  as  knowledge,  form  the 
correct  metaphor.  This  method  has  been  so 
long  used  that  the  interest  of  the  boy  in  sci- 
ences and  in  scientific  reasoning  is  small.  Not 
for  one  moment,  however,  is  it  to  be  doubted 
that  the  government  schools,  so  far  as  they 
are  established,  are  doing  much  to  dethrone 
this  educational  idol  and  ideal  of  the  pump, 
and  are  seeking  to  form,  as  well  as  to  inform, 
the  mind. 

The  education  of  girls  lags  behind  the  edu- 
cation of  boys  in  Egypt  as  in  every  oriental 
country,  slow  as  the  education  of  boys  is.  In 
Egypt,  as  in  all  the  lands  of  Islam,  the  seclu- 
sion of  women  fundamentally  interferes  with 
their  education.  As  soon  as  girls  reach  the 
age  of  ten  or  twelve,  they  are  shut  up  in  their 
homes.  In  the  homes  of  their  parents  they 
remain  virtual  prisoners  till  they  enter  the 


56  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

homes  of  their  husbands,  in  which  the  im- 
prisonment continues.  The  condition,  both 
filial  and  conjugal,  is  a  sad  one  for  the  better- 
ment of  civilization.  The  Mohammedan  home 
is  a  pretty  sorry  affair.  Polygamy  may  dese- 
crate its  conjugal  sacredness,  and  the  seclu- 
sion of  the  purdah,  even  if  there  be  only  one 
wife,  does  not  well  prepare  a  woman  to  be- 
come a  mother  of  sons.  Not  simply  for  their 
own  happiness,  but  also  and  more  for  the 
proper  bringing  up  of  children,  the  education 
of  women  should  be  promoted.  The  prolonga- 
tion of  the  period  of  that  education  would  be 
one  method  of  its  improvement.  Such  pro- 
longation would  necessarily  result  in  the  ele- 
vation of  the  home,  and  the  elevation  of  the 
home  would  necessarily  result  in  the  lifting 
of  society  in  its  fundamental  relationships. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  too,  that  education 
would  increase  the  confidence  of  the  people 
of  Egypt  in  one  another.  For  education  could 
not  but  result  in  making  the  people  more 
worthy  of  confidence.  Education  promotes 
intellectual   accuracy.    Intellectual   accuracy 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  EAST  67 

aids  ethical  honesty;  and  ethical  honesty 
fosters  general  moral  integrity.  Education  en- 
larges the  conception  of  integrity  as  the  basis 
of  all  social  and  economic  concerns.  The 
extension,  therefore,  and  deepening  of  the  ed- 
ucational movement  will  vastly  aid  the  Egyp- 
tian farmer,  merchant,  and  workman  to  appre- 
ciate and  to  practice  the  cardinal  virtues. 

Lord  Cromer  adopted  finance  as  the  basis 
for  the  improvement  of  Egypt.  In  the  crisis 
in  which  he  entered  upon  his  great  work,  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  the  adoption  of 
that  basis  was  inevitable.  But  for  the  future, 
and  as  a  permanent  method  for  the  solution 
of  the  great  present  problems  of  the  land  of 
the  Pharaohs,  education  is  the  basis. 


JAPAN 


II 

THE  JAPANESE  MIND 

The  Japanese  mind  is  a  mind  plus  a  heart. 
It  is  less  pure  intellect  than  most  minds,  it  is 
more  emotional.  It  is  less  philosophic  but 
more  practical  than  the  German ;  it  is  more 
facile  but  less  profound  in  its  workings  than 
the  English;  it  is  less  practical  but  more 
philosophic  than  the  American  mind.  Its  pro- 
cesses are  rapid  and  superficial.  The  results 
of  its  operations  are  best  interpreted  in  terms 
of  sentiment.  Of  the  two  comprehensive  types 
of  mind,  the  logical  and  imaginative,  it  clearly 
belongs  to  the  imaginative.  It  thinks  in  pic- 
tures, in  individual  images  rather  than  in 
prolonged  and  closely  related  reasonings.  It 
prefers  concrete  to  abstract  language.  Its 
power  of  illustration,  of  individualizing,  is 
superior  to  its  power  of  generalizing. 

The  Japanese  mind,  as  I  have  intimated,  is 
not  a  mind   inclined  to   prolonged  logical 


62  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

reasonings.  It  is  changeable.  The  people 
have  been  called  inconstant,  unstable,  fickle. 
The  mind  I  would  not  call  fickle,  but  it  pre- 
fers much  variety  of  subject  for  its  reflections 
to  a  single  closely  compacted  topic  of  thought. 
It  seems  to  lack  greatness,  as  the  stature  of 
the  race  lacks  size.  It  is  agile,  alert.  Its 
agility  and  alertness  arise  from  what  may  be 
called  its  lightness:  the  swallow  turns  where 
the  eagle  cannot.  It  moves  rapidly,  and  hav- 
ing the  defects  of  its  excellences,  it  does  not 
move  profoundly.  A  professor  of  one  of  the 
great  universities,  having  been  for  many  years 
a  teacher  in  Japan,  has  said  to  me,  ''  No  Jap- 
anese ever  really  thinks."  The  remark  may 
be  too  extreme,  but  it  is  significant.  Yet  it  is 
a  mind  of  the  type  which  the  metaphysicians 
call  subjective;  it  turns  in  upon  itself;  it  is 
concerned  with  its  own  operations.  It  is  not 
a  scientific  mind.  It  observes  the  phenomena 
of  nature  far  less  than  it  studies  its  own  con- 
stitution. But  these  studies  are  of  the  heart 
as  well  as  of  the  intellect.  The  mind  feels 
for  itself ;  it  sentimentalizes  about  itself. 


THE  JAPANESE  MIND  63 

Because  of  this  union  of  the  heart  and  of 
the  intellect  in  itself,  the  mind  is  a  receptive 
one.  All  the  avenues  of  its  approach  are  wide 
open.  It  desires  to  take  in  much,  and  much 
it  does  take  in.  Facts,  truths,  ideas  are  its 
food,  and  for  such  food  it  is  constantly  raven- 
ous. The  lectures  which  the  students  of  the 
universities  and  of  the  higher  schools  attend 
every  week  are  many,  many  even  to  excess, 
amounting  in  most  cases  to  twenty-five,  thirty, 
and  even  more.  Such  intellectual  extrava- 
gance arises  from  the  earnestness  of  the  men 
themselves.  They  are  eager  to  know;  they 
have  not  usually  come  to  discriminate  between 
knowledge  and  power,  —  between  the  mind  as 
an  intellectual  granary  and  the  mind  as  an 
intellectual  engine.  They  have  not  learned  that 
education  is  really  educative,  —  a  drawing  out, 
and  not  a  filling  in.  They  need  to  learn  that  re- 
ceptiveness  is  by  no  means  reflectiveness,  and 
that  memorizing  is  not  necessarily  thinking. 

The  Japanese  mind  is  also  a  mind  which 
likes  rules,  formulas,  precedents.  It  approves 
of  systems ;  and  its  operations  easily  become 


64  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

systematic.  Before  a  new,  a  unique  crisis,  it  is 
in  peril  of  standing  blind  and  deaf  and  dumb. 
It  fails  to  appreciate  unknown  conditions,  and 
it  is  liable  to  have  no  hand  to  guide  or  to  lift 
and  no  will  to  inspire.  When  the  rulers  of  the 
people  came  to  know  that  the  nation  had  fallen 
behind  advancing  nations  of  the  West  in  the 
progress  of  civilization,  it  turned  for  light 
and  for  strength  not  to  itself,  as  did  Germany 
at  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  era,  but  to 
America  and  to  Europe.  The  method  was  as 
wise  as  it  was  inevitable.  The  navy  is  Eng- 
lish, the  army  German  and  French,  the  edu- 
cational system  German  and  American.  The 
mind  lacks  initiative,  independence.  It  is  imi- 
tative. The  universities  brought  in  foreign 
professors ;  and  as  one  by  one  they  returned 
to  their  homes  in  America,  England,  Ger- 
many, their  places  were  filled  by  native-born 
teachers ;  the  students  had  learned  their  les- 
sons, and  were  able,  becoming  teachers  them- 
selves, to  follow  out  the  precedents  set  and 
the  methods  prescribed. 

The  Japanese  mind  has  not  had  the  advan- 


THE  JAPANESE  MIND  66 

tage  of  receiving  what  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind 
has  had  for  four  hundred  years,  the  "  Greek 
bath/'  as  Hegel  terms  it.  In  its  place  it  has 
had  the  Chinese  bath.  It  has  substituted  Con- 
fucius for  Plato  and  Aristotle.  It  has  taken 
a  series  of  ideographs  instead  of  the  most  per- 
fect and  scientific  language  which  the  world 
has  yet  made.  In  learning  this  language,  in 
studying  this  literature, — replete  as  it  is  with 
wise  maxims,  and  interpretative  as  I  know 
it  to  be  of  many  of  the  moods  of  the  human 
sold,  —  it  has  found  special  exercise  for  the 
memory.  It  has  not  thus  received  a  training  in 
discrimination,  in  appreciation.  That  general 
enlargement  of  the  mind,  that  enrichment  of 
the  intellect,  that  cultivation  of  the  whole 
man,  which  Greek  has  given  for  hundreds 
of  years  and  to  the  leaders  of  the  progressive 
peoples,  the  Japanese  mind  has  lacked  and 
lacks  still. 

The  Japanese  mind  is,  also,  at  once  moral 
and  unmoral.  It  has  a  fondness,  both  intel- 
lectual and  emotional,  for  moral  abstract  truth, 
but  it  also  has  not  inspired  the  people  to 


66  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

moral  practice.  The  Japanese  mind  likes  a  dis- 
cussion, even  more  indeed  than  the  American, 
—  and  that  is  much,  —  and  it  especially  likes 
a  discussion  about  ethical  sanctions,  defini- 
tions, discriminations.  No  subject  is  so  con- 
stantly taught  in  all  the  schools  as  ethics.  Yet 
the  application  of  ethics  to  life  seems  remote. 
The  two  great  fields  for  the  application  of 
ethical  precepts  seem  peculiarly  needy  in  Ja- 
pan, —  business  and  the  family.  That  the  com- 
mercial morality  of  the  nation  is  improving, 
that  sexual  morality  is  becoming  more  pure, 
does  not  prevent  one  from  saying  that  dis- 
honesty and  trickery  are  woefully  common, 
and  that  the  family  relation  commands,  on  the 
whole,  small  respect.  The  foreign  tradesman 
is  obliged  to  inspect  his  purchase,  whether  it 
be  a  yard  or  a  bale,  with  care.  The  defect 
may  be  deftly  hidden ;  and  when  discovered 
and  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  seller,  it 
awakens  surprise  and  apology ;  a  surprise  and 
apology  which  are  apparently  conventional. 

An   illustration  of  the   doubt   which   the 
Japanese  themselves  have  of  the  honesty  of 


THE  JAPANESE  MIND  67 

their  countrymen  has  just  been  told  me.  An 
American  author,  of  great  distinction,  freely 
gave  to  an  educational  association  the  manu- 
script of  a  course  of  lectures  which  he  had 
delivered  to  Japanese  teachers,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  publication.  This  association  was  un- 
willing to  entrust  the  publication  to  any 
Japanese  publisher,  for  fear  that  he  would  not 
make  for  copyright  purposes  a  correct  state- 
ment of  the  number  of  copies  sold. 

Likewise  in  the  family.  The  importance  of 
the  family  to  society,  and  to  the  whole  social 
order,  does  not  prevent  about  one  half  of  all 
the  domestic  unions  of  the  common  people 
from  being  not  legalized  by  due  process  and 
form,  and  also  does  not  prevent  about  one 
third  of  all  marriages,  formal  or  informal, 
from  resulting  in  divorce  or  separation.  Ethics 
has  not  yet  been  so  impressed  upon  the  people 
as  to  prevent  or  to  stop  most  serious  domestic 
and  social  evils.  Ethics  has  been  deficient  in 
impressing  the  great  formal  and  social  duty 
of  chastity.  Sexual  purity  is  a  lesson  of  which 
the  teaching  should  be  made  more  impressive, 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


68  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

and  of  which  the  learning  should  be  made 
more  constant  and  thorough. 

The  Japanese  mind,  therefore,  is  a  mind 
moral,  in  its  theoretical  interpretation  of 
ethical  truth,  and  unmoral  in  the  application 
of  this  truth.  The  nation  is  really  an  unmoral 
nation  as  compared  to  the  noblest  ethical 
standards  of  the  Christian  nations  of  the 
West. 

The  Japanese  mind,  like  the  nation,  is  still 
in  the  evolutionary  process.  It  needs,  what  it 
will  receive,  growth.  The  whole  intellectual 
level  of  the  people  is  not  as  high  as  that  of 
the  peoples  of  the  West.  The  intellectual 
power  of  the  greatest  men  of  Japan  is  nearer 
the  height  of  the  intellectual  attainments  of 
the  greatest  men  of  the  West  than  is  the  in- 
tellectual level  of  the  Japanese  people  near 
the  intellectual  level  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
peoples.  But,  as  the  colored  boy  said  to 
Howard  at  Atlanta,  "We  are  rising."  The 
struggle  of  nature  for  thousands  of  years  has 
been  to  make  brain.  That  struggle  is  most 
vigorous   in  Japan ;    it   needs  to   be.    That 


THE  JAPANESE  MIND 


struggle  will  go  on ;  and  in  the  decades  and 
the  centuries,  it  will  bring  forth,  under  good 
conditions,  great  popular  forces  both  static 
and  dynamic. 


Ill 

SIMILARITIES    AND    CONTRASTS    OF 
JAPANESE  AND  AMERICAN 
EDUCATION 

Aside  from  the  common  and  essential  ele- 
ments which  belong  alike  to  all  systems  of 
education,  one  element  is  found  in  both  the 
American  and  Japanese  system :  it  is  the  fun- 
damental element  of  profound  respect  for  edu- 
cation on  the  part  of  both  nations.  In  both 
countries  education  has  come  to  be  regarded 
as  the  most  important  part  of  the  national  life. 
In  1872  a  proclamation  made  by  the  new 
Emperor  declared :  "  All  knowledge,  from  that 
necessary  for  daily  life  to  that  higher  know- 
ledge necessary  to  prepare  officers,  farmers, 
mechanics,  artisans,  physicians,  etc.,  for  their 
respective  vocations,  is  acquired  by  learning. 
It  is  designed  henceforth  that  education  shall 
be  so  diffused  that  there  may  not  be  a  village 
with  an  ignorant  family,  nor  a  family  with  an 
ignorant  member."  In  the  year  of  1890,  the 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  71 

Emperor  also  issued  what  is  now  known  as. 
"  The  Imperial  Rescript  on  Education."  It  is 
so  named,  although  it  might  also  be  called 
a  rescript  concerning  the  ethical  virtues ;  but 
the  spirit  of  education  is  the  atmosphere 
which  breathes  through  each  sentence.  For 
in  "virtue,"  declares  his  Majesty,  "lies  the 
source  of  our  Education,"  as  well  as  "the 
glory  of  the  fundamental  character  of  our 
Empire."  His  Majesty  also  commands  that 
"our  subjects"  are  to  "pursue  learning  and 
cultivate  arts,  and  thereby  develop  intellectual 
faculties  and  perfect  moral  powers."  These 
two  imperial  writings  have  been  and  still  con- 
tinue to  be  an  inspiring  force  in  the  progress 
of  education.  The  Emperor,  by  his  personal 
and  royal  example  in  attending  the  commence- 
ment exercises  at  the  University  of  Tokyo 
and  of  other  schools,  and  by  inviting  teachers 
in  the  public  schools  to  his  palace  on  special 
occasions,  has  proved  his  great  and  abiding 
interest  in  this  form  of,  and  this  force  for, 
civilization.  These  proclamations  are  akin  to 
the  immortal  utterances  of  Washington  re- 


72  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

garding  the  importance  of  education  in  a 
republic. 

It  should  also  be  said  that  this  interest  of 
both  nations  comes  to  its  head  in  the  members 
of  the  teaching  profession  themselves. 

Teachers  in  both  Japan  and  the  United 
States  are  deeply  absorbed  in  their  work.  The 
members  of  no  profession  devote  so  much  at- 
tention to  their  professional  improvement. 
The  teachers  of  Japan  know  that  they  —  like 
their  nation — are  new,  and  they  show  in 
many  ways  the  desire  to  profit  from  the  re- 
sults secured  by  peoples  of  larger  and  richer 
experience.  These  teachers  are  both  men  and 
women.  In  America  more  than  four  fifths  of 
aU  the  teachers  in  the  public  schools  are  women ; 
in  Japan  more  than  four  fifths  are  men.  The 
proportion  of  women  teaching  in  Japan  in- 
creases, as  it  does  in  some  American  states. 
In  the  year  1900-01,  of  91,798  Japanese  pub- 
lic school-teachers,  only  11,910  were  women; 
but  in  1904-05,  from  104,272  teachers,  almost 
20,000  — 19,790  —  were  women.  The  two 
countries  are  concerned  with  opposite  sides  of 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  73 

the  same  problem:  in  America  the  number 
of  men  teaching  in  the  schools  should  be  in- 
creased and  the  number  of  women  diminished ; 
in  Japan  the  number  of  women  should  be  in- 
creased and  the  number  of  men  diminished. 

A  contrast  which  strikes  one  in  the  public 
education,  —  to  proceed  from  the  outer  to  the 
inner  part,  and  from  the  "  lower  education  " 
to  the  "  higher,"  is  the  character  of  the  school- 
houses  themselves.  Many  of  these  houses,  like 
most  Japanese  buildings,  are  built  of  wood. 
Laf  cadio  Hearn  writes  of  Japanese  architecture 
as  being  characterized  by  "  impermanence." 
The  Japanese  schoolhouse  is  a  frail  structure ; 
its  timbers  small,  its  walls,  of  boards  or  clap- 
boards, thin,  its  floors  weak.  The  construction 
seems  loose.  From  first  floor  to  the  shingled 
roof  of  the  second  story,  a  general  air  of  in- 
stabiHty  pervades.  In  the  whole  building  is 
found  no  intimation  of  that  strength  which 
belongs  to  the  brick  or  stone  schoolhouse  of 
the  American  city,  large  or  small.  It  must  also 
be  said  that  what  we  like  to  call  "  beauty  "  is 
quite  as  lacking  as  strength.  Though  Ameri- 


74  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

cans  overcrowd  their  houses  with  "ornaments" 
and  furniture,  yet  the  Japanese  walls  are  bare 
almost  to  barrenness,  and  the  benches  rough. 
In  one  respect,  however,  and  that  most  im- 
portant, is  a  happy  element  to  be  found,  — 
the  management  of  the  light  of  each  room. 
The  windows  are  large,  set  on  one  wall  usually, 
and  the  light  falls  over  the  left  shoulder  of 
the  seated  pupil. 

One  of  the  most  evident  problems  which 
American  and  Japanese  institutions  situated 
in  the  city — and  most  Japanese  higher  insti- 
tutions are  in  a  city  —  have  in  common,  is 
the  problem  of  getting  land  for  buildings. 
Not  long  before  his  death.  Provost  Pepper, 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  walking 
over  the  grounds  of  Western  Reserve  Uni- 
versity, said  to  me,  "  Get  land."  The  remark 
grew  out  of  his  own  experience.  The  remark 
may  be  made  a  command  for  most  urban  in- 
stitutions in  both  Japan  and  America.  The 
University  of  Tokyo  has  about  one  hundred 
acres  for  its  fifty  and  more  buildings.  The 
sister  university  at  Kyoto  is  not  cramped. 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  76 

The  great  institution  o£  the  Methodist  Church 
at  Tokyo  has  some  twenty-four  acres.  But 
most  colleges  and  schools  are  poor  in  land. 
The  Waseda  University  at  Tokyo,  of  some 
eight  thousand  students,  the  Doshisha  at  Ky- 
oto, of  eight  hundred,  the  Japan  Women's 
University,  of  fourteen  hundred,  and  also  the 
Presbyterian  schools,  all  at  Tokyo,  and  many 
others,  do  not  have  room  to  grow.  What 
renders  the  limitations  more  serious  is  that 
the  price  of  land  in  the  great  towns  has  in- 
creased by  such  leaps  and  bounds  that  to 
make  purchases  at  present  would  require 
twenty  or  in  some  cases  even  fifty  times  the 
price  originally  asked. 

This  problem  of  the  budget  has  relations 
also  to  larger  appropriations  for  libraries,  for 
scientific  apparatus,  for  keeping  buildings 
clean  and  well  repaired  and  grounds  aestheti- 
cally beautiful.  In  these  several  and  diverse 
respects,  Japanese  universities  and  colleges 
are  sympathetic  with  American.  But  in  re- 
spect to  books  the  Japanese  institutions  labor 
under  a  double  disadvantage.    For  they  are 


76  EDUCATION  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

obliged  to  buy  not  only  all  the  proper  books 
of  their  own  writing,  but  also  all  those  of  Eng- 
lish, German,  and  French  authorship  which 
relate  to  the  great  scholastic  subjects  and 
movements.  The  best  library,  that  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Tokyo,  is  as  good  as  the  better  col- 
lege libraries  of  America,  but  by  no  means 
approaches  the  best,  such  as  those  of  Har- 
vard, Columbia,  and  Yale.  The  lack  of  proper 
appropriations  is  evident  also  in  the  untidi- 
ness of  the  academic  housekeeping.  Build- 
ings are  not  clean.  "What  is  your  greatest 
problem?"  an  American  college  president  was 
asked.  "To  get  floors  washed  often  enough," 
was  his  answer.  The  same  problem  exists  in 
the  universities  of  Japan,  and  it  is  not  an- 
swered so  well  as  in  those  of  America.  Japan's 
reputation,  too,  for  fine  gardens  and  landscape 
architecture  is  depreciated  through  the  lack 
of  plan  and  of  care  manifest  in  most  college 
grounds.  The  contrast  between  Tokyo  and 
Kyoto  and  Oxford  and  Cambridge  is  painful ; 
but  the  contrast  also  between  the  Japanese 
and  many  American  universities  would  be  alto- 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  77 

gether  in  favor  of  the  American.  The  reason 
lies  back  in  the  budget. 

In  passing,  it  may  be  added  that  the  Jap- 
anese colleges,  like  the  American,  have  in  the 
past  paid  little  attention  to  the  counsels  of 
either  the  landscape  or  the  building  architect. 
The  location  of  buildings  has  been  too  much 
like  the  location  of  the  Thousand  Islands  in 
the  St.  Lawrence,  haphazard,  and  the  build- 
ings themselves  lack  both  individual  beauty 
and  collective  impressiveness. 

Japan  is  also  struggling  with  the  problem 
of  America  in  respect  to  big  academic  names 
for  small  academic  institutions.  The  name 
"university"  is  given  to  an  institution  which 
offers  instruction  less  advanced  and  of  no  better 
quality  than  the  "  higher  normal  school "  of 
Japan  gives.  Institutions  put  forth  "  claims  " 
which  represent  hopes  rather  than  present 
values.  The  traditional  self-restraint  of  the 
nation  is  not  manifest  in  its  academic  am- 
bition. 

The  salaries  of  teachers  are,  also,  small,  as 
are  the  fees  of  students.    In  the  higher  ele- 


78  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

mentary  schools  the  largest  salaries  for  men 
are  about  ten  dollars  a  month,  and  for  women 
about  seven  dollars.  In  the  last  four  years 
hese  stipends  have  increased,  but  only  by  in- 
»,onsiderable  amounts.  In  Japan,  as  in  the 
United  States,  a  good  carpenter  receives  a 
larger  wage  than  a  good  elementary  school- 
teacher. The  professors  in  both  of  the  Im- 
perial Universities,  as  well  as  the  teachers  in 
many  higher  schools,  have  spoken  freely  to 
me  of  the  hardships  arising  from  their  small 
stipends.  These  stipends  run  from  five  hun- 
dred to  twelve  hundred  dollars.  For  foreign- 
ers the  amounts  are  double  or  triple  these 
sums.  But  such  salaries  are  entirely  inadequate. 
The  Japanese  style  of  living  is  simple.  But 
house-rent  is  seldom  less  than  fifteen  doUars 
a  month,  and  readily  becomes  thirty  or  forty 
dollars.  The  price  of  rice  has  rapidly  and 
greatly  advanced.  It  was  never  so  high  as  to- 
day. The  Japanese  professor  is  finding  his 
economic  burden  quite  as  heavy  as  is  the 
American. 

But  this  low  rate  of  compensation  is  some- 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  79 

what  relieved,  though  only  in  part,  by  a  gov- 
ernmental pension  system. 

The  pension  system  for  public  school-teach- 
ers has  gained  a  more  general  prevalence  in 
lapan  than  in  the  United  States.  Its  progress 
in  the  United  States,  especially  in  the  large 
cities,  in  the  last  ten  years  has  been  great ; 
but  the  larger  part  of  the  half  million  of 
teachers  in  the  whole  country  are  not  its  bene- 
ficiaries. The  Japanese  teacher  is  an  official 
of  the  government;  and  as  such  is  entitled  to 
a  grant  on  retirement.  Teachers  formerly  in 
the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  to  the 
number  of  more  than  five  thousand,  are  now 
in  receipt  of  pensions.  These  benefits  are  also 
continued  to  the  families  of  teachers  who 
have  died.  The  amounts  thus  granted  vary 
from  about  one  fifth  to  one  third  of  the  sal- 
ary formerly  received. 

An  important  element,  at  once  a  contrast 
and  a  likeness,  is  found  in  the  studies  which 
are  pursued  in  both  lower  and  higher  schools. 
The  same  studies  are  found  in  the  Japanese 
schools  which  are  set  in  the  corresponding 


80  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

American  schools,  barring  certain  marked  ex- 
ceptions. Neither  Latin  nor  Greek  is  studied. 
The  civiHzation  of  the  Far  East  is  progress- 
ing without  immediate  reference  to  the  classi- 
cal traditions  which  have  mightily  influenced 
Western  development.  In  them  is  found,  of 
course,  the  Japanese  language  and  literature, 
and  also,  in  some,  the  Chinese  language.  The 
study  of  ethics  is  pursued  also  far  more  con- 
stantly than  in  the  schools  of  Western  nations. 
In  the  teaching  of  arithmetic  the  soroban,  or 
abacus,  is  used.  But  with  these  rather  impres- 
sive differences  the  curricula  of  the  two  sys- 
tems are  much  alike. 

The  same  subjects  of  study  are,  moreover, 
either  popular  or  unpopular  in  the  Japanese  in- 
stitution and  in  the  American.  The  social  sci- 
ences and  history  represent  the  more,  and  the 
mathematical  sciences  the  less,  popular.  The 
Japanese  mind  is  not  a  mathematical  mind.  It 
is  not  exact.  Mathematics  is  not  taught  in  any 
Japanese  university  to  the  extent  in  which  it 
is  taught  in  the  best  American  colleges.  There 
is  little  or  no  demand  for  the  higher  or  the 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  81 

newer  developments  of  the  great  subject.  But 
political  economy,  sociology,  the  science  of  gov- 
ernment, politics,  represent  topics  in  which  the 
Japanese  mind  has  intense  interest.  The  same 
condition  obtains  in  America. 

The  teachers  of  Japan  are  laboring  with  the 
question  upon  which  American  teachers  are 
working,  namely,  the  question  of  getting  stu- 
dents to  think.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  get- 
ting Japanese  students  to  learn.  The  faculty 
of  the  memory  is  strong.  The  difficulty  is  to 
persuade  students  to  learn  less  and  to  think 
more.  Many  students  have  not  come  to  dis- 
tinguish between  these  important  functions. 
But  teachers  are  becoming  aware ;  for  the  loss 
which  their  students  are  incurring  in  sacrific- 
ing reflectiveness  to  acquisitiveness  is  con- 
stant and  serious.  The  way  of  meeting  this 
difficulty  is  still  pretty  obscure  in  both  Japan 
and  America.  But  one  Japanese  professor  in- 
dicated a  method  which  he  believed  had  al- 
ready proved  to  be  of  value.  It  lay  in  an  ex- 
amination not  upon  questions  which  related 
to  the  content  of  a  subject,  but  which  related 


82  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

to  the  consideration  of  the  problems  of  tha ' 
subject.  A  student  would  be  tested  upon  his 
thinking  out  and  solving  the  problems  which 
arise  in  a  course  of  instruction.  Such  questions 
I  know  thousands  of  teachers  in  American  col- 
leges prefer  to  set  in  an  examination  paper. 
Such  questions  it  is  hard  to  formulate;  but 
such  questions  will  become  more  common  in 
both  American  and  Japanese  universities. 

There  is  need,  however,  aside  from  the  method 
and  content  of  examinations  that  students 
should  be  so  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  thinking  as  compared  to  learning  that  they 
will  compel  themselves  to  think.  More  of  the 
mathematical  necessity  of  thinking  should  be 
felt  by  them.  This  necessity  they  will  in  time 
come  to  feel  for  themselves,  as  already  their 
teachers  are  feeling  it  for  them. 

A  farther  problem  in  which  Japanese  teach- 
ers as  well  as  American  are  deeply  concerned, 
is  the  giving  of  personal  aid  to  students  in 
the  great  interests  of  their  lives.  It  is  th( 
problem  by  what  means  and  methods  the  char- 
acter of  the  teacher  may  be  brought  to  bear 


SIMILARITIES  AND   CONTRASTS  S? 

upon  the  character  of  the  student.  The  diffi 
culty  in  the  question  arises  from  the  great 
number  of  students  and  also  from  the  work 
of  the  teacher  in  research.  When  one  teacher 
has  two  hundred  or  four  hundred  students,  he 
is  usually  prevented  from  giving  much  indi- 
vidual help  to  each.  When,  also,  a  professor 
is  deeply  interested  in  research,  as  he  ought 
to  be,  and  interested  in  publishing  the  results 
of  his  investigations,  he  feels  he  has  little 
time  or  strength  left  for  the  individual  stu- 
dent. The  condition  in  both  Japanese  and 
American  institutions  is  identical.  The  dor- 
mitory system,  at  least  indirectly  if  not  directly, 
allows  some  teachers  opportunities  for  study- 
ing the  personal  life  of  students.  But  Tokyo 
transferred  not  long  ago  its  few  dormitories 
to  the  Medical  Department  for  hospital  wards. 
It  is  now  without  any.  "  It  was  a  great  mis- 
take," said  a  professor  to  me.  Students'  hos- 
tels under  the  charge  of  the  Young  Men's* 
Christian  Association  are  doing  much  to  mee: 
this  condition.  The  lack  of  opportunities  open 
to  the  Japanese  professor  is  greater  than  to 


84  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

the  American.  For  the  lecture  system  is  far 
more  common  in  Japan.  The  recitation  sys- 
tem does  give  the  teacher  some  little  chance 
for  making  an  inventory  of  the  mind  and 
heart  of  the  student,  and  for  discovering  his 
point  of  view.  But  the  Japanese  college  lec- 
ture is  simply  an  academic  address,  in  which 
practically  no  chance  is  open  for  the  play  and 
by-play  of  question  and  answer.  Japanese 
professors,  like  the  American,  lament  the  con- 
dition, and  are  seeking  a  remedy ;  but,  so  far, 
likewise,  without  worthy  result. 

The  great  questions  in  Japan,  as  in  Amer- 
ica, about  which  students  crave  counsel  from 
their  teachers,  are  ethical  and  religious  ques- 
tions. Such  questions  are  most  vital,  personal, 
serious.  In  Japan  these  questions  are  tremen- 
dously significant.  For  students  in  lifting 
their  own  lives  and  the  lives  of  their  fellow 
countrymen  who  are  less  favored  out  of  moral 
unworthiness,  need  all  the  advice  and  inspira- 
tion which  their  teachers  of  widest  experience 
and  warmest  regard  can  give. 

A  contrast  is  to  be  found,  and  one,  too,  in 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  86 

favor  of  the  Eastern  nation,  in  respect  to 
school  attendance.  At  the  present  time  more 
than  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  Japanese 
children  who  are  of  the  elementary  school-age 
are  attending  school.  In  the  United  States 
the  proportion  differs  much  for  the  different 
commonwealths,  from  Massachusetts  with  its 
high  average  to  the  states  of  the  Southwest ; 
but  the  national  contrast  is  to  the  advantage 
of  Japan.  The  percentage,  too,  is  constantly 
rising.  In  the  last  six  years  in  the  elementary 
schools,  it  has  risen  from  about  eighty-one  to 
more  than  ninety-five.  The  increase  for  girls 
exceeds  that  for  boys.  In  1890-91  about 
seventy-one  per  cent  of  the  girls  were  in 
school,  and  ninety  per  cent  of  the  boys ;  in 
1905-06  the  ratio  had  so  changed  that  ninety- 
seven  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  ninety-three 
per  cent  of  the  girls  were  in  school. 

For  most  of  these  pupils,  education  is  not 
free  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  in  American 
schools.  Above  the  primary  grades  a  fee  is 
charged.  The  fee  is  ridiculously  small,  meas- 
ured by  Western  standards   of   value;   but 


86  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

measured  by  Japanese  standards,  its  aggre- 
gate represents  a  large  income  for  the  statec 
The  Japanese  home,  be  it  said,  seems  willing 
to  meet  this  small  tax.  In  the  higher  primary 
school  the  fee  paid  for  each  pupil  each  month 
runs  from  fifteen  cents  to  thirty ;  in  the  mid- 
dle (or  grammar)  school  the  fee  is  seldom  less 
than  fifty  cents  a  month,  or  more  than  a  dol- 
lar and  twenty  cents ;  in  the  high  school  it 
is  ten  dollars  a  year,  and  in  the  universities 
about  eighteen  dollars.  Certain  exemptions 
are  made  in  cases  of  poverty. 

Passing  from  the  more  ordinary  types  of 
public  school  education  to  the  form  of  the 
higher  education,  the  same  contrast  is  noted. 
Many  higher  schools  are  able  to  receive  only 
a  small  proportion  of  the  students  who  desire 
to  enter.  In  ways  either  direct  or  indirect 
most  American  colleges  seek  for  students. 
The  higher  schools  of  Japan  have  no  need  of 
conducting  such  a  campaign.  For  most  of 
them  are  full,  too  full,  and  clamoring  appli- 
cants to  the  number  of  thousands  find  the 
academic  gates  shut  in  their  faces.  The  uni- 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  87 

versities  and  what  America  would  call  col 
leges  are  few.  The  two  universities  of  Tokyo 
and  Kyoto  are  able  to  receive  most  appli- 
cants ;  but  the  provision  offered  at  the  normal 
schools  and  some  technical  institutions  is 
utterly  inadequate.  Of  the  more  than  twenty- 
two  thousand  applicants  at  the  normal  schools 
last  year,  less  than  five  thousand  were  re- 
ceived. In  certain  individual  schools  only  one 
applicant  in  ten  is  admitted.  In  some  medical 
schools  a  similar  proportion  of  admissions  to 
applications  prevails.  The  Japanese  govern- 
ment has  so  far  been  unable  to  offer  sufficient 
facilities  for  the  higher  education  of  her 
people ;  every  year  either  old  institutions  are 
enlarged  or  new  ones  founded.  In  the  com- 
ing year  four  new  scientific  schools  or  col- 
leges will  be  opened.  Japanese  young  men 
look  upon  education  as  the  ladder  leading 
to  the  richest  opportunities  and  the  highes^ 
achievements.  Year  after  year,  only  a  hun* 
dred  out  of  a  thousand  applicants  to  some 
schools  are  received.  The  test  is  made  by  ex- 
amination. Those  who  are  rejected,  it  may  be 


88  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

added,  represent  in  Japan  a  contingent  which 
proves  to  be  a  cause  of  watchfulness  to  the 
police  force  of  Tokyo  and  other  great  towns. 
Unwilling  to  return  to  their  homes  in  the 
country,  lean  in  purse,  loath  to  do  the  homely 
work  which  may  offer,  they  are  a  pregnant 
cause  of  social  peril. 

In  Japan,  as  in  America,  the  student  of 
slender  purse,  but  high  ambition,  is  common. 
The  methods  used  for  aiding  him  in  Japan 
are  unlike  those  employed  in  America.  In 
America  the  college  to  which  he  goes  aids 
by  grants  of  money,  or  by  securing  oppor- 
tunities of  self-support.  The  record  which 
almost  every  college  could  publish  is  a  noble 
one.  But  in  Japan  the  aid  is  usually  given 
by  the  locality  in  which  the  student  lives. 
There  are  more  than  a  hundred  student  aid 
societies.  They  are  largely  maintained  by  the 
wealthier  people  of  the  province  or  neighbor- 
hood. One  of  these  societies,  which  is  prob- 
ably the  best  endowed,  has  a  fund  of  about 
$350,000.  The  aid  is  given  usually  in  the 
form  of  loans,   running  from  about  $2.50 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  89 

to  $5.00  a  month.  Even  the  larger  amount 
would  not  be  called  extravagant ;  but  when  it 
is  remembered  that  for  one  hundred  dollars  a 
student  can  meet  all  his  expenses  for  a  year 
at  one  of  the  higher  institutions,  the  amount 
may  be  deemed  liberal. 

For  the  cost  of  education  seems  small,  very 
small.  The  following  is  the  estimate  made  by 
one  of  the  private  universities  for  each  year 
of  a  course  of  five  years :  — 

Tuition  fee 318.00 

Room  rent  (11  mo.) 19.26 

Classroom  charge 1.50 

Physical  training 1.50 

Board  (11  mo.) 33.00 

Books,  stationery,  etc 30.00 

$103.25 

This  estimate,  I  believe,  the  catalogue  of 
our  American  college,  in  its  ordinary  state- 
ment of  the  different  types  of  students'  ex- 
penses, would  describe  as  "  economical ! "  For 
in  the  American  college  the  corresponding 
charges  which  the  student  would  meet  would 
be  for  tuition  from  $100  to  $150,  for  board 
and  room  from  $175  to  $400  or  more,  and 
for  incidentals  a  sum  far  in  excess  of  the 


90  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

$100,  which  the  Japanese  student  spends  for 
\11  items.  The  best  education,  secured  under 
ie  best  conditions,  would,  therefore,  cost  at 
least  one  fourth  and  probably  one  tenth  as 
much  in  Tokyo  or  Kyoto  as  in  New  York,  or 
New  Haven,  or  Cambridge.  Of  course,  the 
difference  could  easily  be  made  much  greater. 
The  many  Japanese  men  and  the  few  Japa- 
nese women  who  have  come  to  American  col- 
leges deeply  feel  this  difference  in  expense. 

This  difference  has  a  material  expression 
in  the  rooms  of  the  students.  The  room  of 
a  Japanese  student  is  small,  —  being  seldom 
more  than  an  eight  mat  room  (each  mat  is  six 
feet  by  three)  and  usually  smaller.  It  is  rather 
unfurnished  than  furnished.  The  floor  is  the 
bed,  and  the  simple  bedding  in  the  daytime  is 
rolled  up  and  tucked  away  in  a  drawer.  The 
floor  is  the  chair,  too,  as  well  as  the  bedstead. 
A  small  low  table  is,  with  a  few  books,  the 
only  piece  of  furniture.  All  the  belongings  of 
many  a  student  I  have  seen  wrapped  together 
in  a  blanket.  I  must  say  that  such  a  room 
seems  to  be  almost  as  lacking  in  comfort  to 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  91 

the  Japanese  student  as  it  is  in  necessaries  to 
the  American.  But  the  Japanese  student  does, 
I  am  sure,  find  comfort  as  well  as  necessaries 
in  this  simplest  provision.  He  is  the  child  of 
such  an  environment.  He  does  not  miss  what 
he  never  had.  And  be  it  ever  said  that  the 
Japanese  student,  like  the  Japanese  soldier, 
can  do  good  work  on  rice  and  dried  fish,  and 
that,  too,  with  not  a  large  quantity  of  either. 
Out  of  the  comparative  poverty  and,  also, 
out  of  the  ambition  of  the  Japanese  student, 
arises  the  element  of  work.  On  the  whole, 
he  takes  more  lectures  in  a  week  than  the 
American  in  a  fortnight  or  possibly  three 
weeks.  But  if  he  studies  or  listens  more,  he 
thinks  less ;  and  no  man  at  any  college  in  the 
New  World  thinks  too  much.  If  in  laborious- 
ness  he  be  superior  to  his  brother  in  America, 
in  moral  practice  he  is  distinctly  inferior.  He 
is  far  more  akin  to  the  French  student  of  the 
Latin  Quarter  than  to  the  American.  In  this 
respect  he  is  sympathetic  with  his  nation.  For 
to  the  whole  people  moral  standards  are  lack- 
ing ;  they  are  less  immoral   than    unmoral. 


92  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

What  seems  to  the  occidental  conscience  wrong 
may  seem  to  the  oriental  to  have  no  moral 
quality  at  all.  But  the  Christian  principles  of 
the  West  are  beginning  to  affect  the  Japanese 
nation  ;  and  in  no  class  have  they  become  so 
pervasive  as  among  the  students.  The  work 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  as 
well  as  of  the  churches,  merits  the  warmest 
commendation. 

The  Japanese  student,  moreover,  like  the 
American,  has  his  undergraduate  life.  Sports 
are  common,  of  which  archery  and  baseball 
are  popular.  Football  is  not  played  to  any  ex- 
tent, and  probably  will  not  be.  It  does  not  seem 
to  partake  of  that  gracious  deference  which 
characterizes  student  life,  as  all  life,  in  Japan  ! 
There  are  few  clubs  and  social  organizations, 
but  they  are  more  usually  formed  upon  the 
basis  of  the  province  whence  came  the  men  to 
the  universities  than  on  the  ground  of  per- 
sonal likings.  The  geographical  principle  pre- 
vailing at  XJpsala  is  followed  to  a  degree  in 
Tokyo.  But,  in  general,  the  universities  man- 
ifest more  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 


SIMILARITIES  AND  CONTRASTS  93 

American  professional  school  than  of  the  un- 
dergraduate college.  The  pressure  of  the  forth- 
coming life  is  vividly  felt.  That  life  is  strenu- 
ous, and  the  undergraduate  sympathizes  with 
its  demands. 

To  one  more  contrast  I  must  refer.  It  is  the 
greater  orderliness  of  the  Japanese  student. 
Academic  life  in  Japan  has  little  of  those 
tomfooleries  which  are  characterized  as  either 
delightful,  or  disgusting,  natural  to  youth,  or 
outrageous,  according  to  preconceived  stand- 
ards. At  all  events,  Japanese  students  are 
not  much  given  to  play.  As  citizens  of  the 
state  they  are  obedient  to  its  civil  of&cers,  so 
as  members  of  an  academic  society  they  con- 
duct themselves  with  propriety.  They  mind 
their  academic  business.  Any  noisy  procession 
of  them  would  probably  be  at  once  dispersed 
by  the  police,  even  if  it  were  allowed  to  form. 
A  theft  of  a  barber's  pole  would  result  in  ar- 
rest and  punishment.  Disturbance  at  a  theatre 
would  not  be  suffered.  The  Japanese  student 
by  nature  seems  to  lack  the  enthusiastic  spirit 
of  the  American.  The  task  of  the  police  force 


94  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

is  always  an  easier  one  than  it  would  be  in 
Cambridge  on  the  occasion  of  a  great  football 
victory  over  Yale. 

Whether  the  American  school  is  more  effec- 
tive for  America  than  the  Japanese  is  for  Japan 
would  be  hard,  very  hard,  to  say.  At  times  we 
are  inclined  to  laud,  and  again,  we  are  inclined 
to  depreciate,  the  efficiency  of  the  American 
school  and  college.  But  on  the  whole,  under 
existing  conditions,  sober  judgment  inclines 
to  the  conviction  that  the  American  education 
is  giving  good  service  to  the  American  peo- 
ple. I  am  confident  that  a  similar  condition  of 
efficiency  prevails  in  Japan. 

The  nation  is  in  a  ^^n^e  feeling  its  way  in 
education.  Education  has  already  done  much 
for  the  people.  It  has  in  ten  years  reduced  the 
number  who  cannot  read  and  write  to  a  very 
small  percentage.  It  has  quickened  every 
form  of  endeavor.  It  has  been  one  of  the 
chief  causes  contributing  to  the  making  of 
Japan  a  world-power.  Japan's  confidence,  too, 
in  the  value  of  education  was  never  so  great 
as  at  this  very  hour. 


IV 

EDUCATION  WITHOUT  KELIGION  AND 
WITH  ETHICS 

Japan's  schools  represent  the  most  serious 
endeavor  now  being  made  in  the  world  to  give 
a  complete  education  without  instruction  in 
religion,  and  with  instruction  in  ethics.  It 
might  be  said  that  Japan  has  no  religion; 
and  that,  therefore,  her  schools  are  necessarily 
bereft  of  this  instruction.  It  might  also  be 
said  that  Japan  has  three  religions ;  and  that, 
therefore,  her  schools  should  include  instruc- 
tion in  them,  and  that  in  giving  this  instruction 
they  should  treat  the  three  alike  by  a  common 
inclusion  in  the  curriculum.  Whether  these 
opposing  inferences  be  sound  or  fallacious, 
there  is  truth  in  the  double  statement  that 
among  the  Japanese  people  are  found  many 
firm  adherents  to  Christianity,  to  Buddhism, 
and  to  Shintoism,  and  also  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  this  people  —  possibly  the  largest 


96  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

—  are  adherents  of  no  faith  at  all.  But  what- 
ever faith  be  held  or  not  held,  the  govern- 
ment does  rigorously  adopt  the  method  of  the 
exclusion  of  all  dogmatic  religious  instruction. 
The  history  of  various  religions  is  taught  in 
the  universities,  but  the  teaching  is  historical. 

This  result  of  exclusion  is  apparently  in- 
evitable. The  national  policy  is  one  quite  as 
liberal  as  obtains  in  the  United  States,  of  ab- 
solute freedom  in  matters  religious.  Under 
such  a  policy  the  exclusion  of  the  formal 
teaching  of  any  religion  seems  necessary. 
Primary  teacher  and  university  professor,  as 
well  as  the  people,  give  assent.  The  private 
school  or  university  is,  of  course,  free  to  teach 
or  not  to  teach. 

The  impossibility  of  giving  religious  in- 
struction is  felt  by  not  a  few  of  the  people  as 
a  lamentable  condition.  They  wish  that  the 
inevitable  conclusion  could  in  some  way  be 
avoided.  But  be  it  said,  the  regret  over  the 
condition  is  not  so  great  as  it  would  be  in  the 
United  States.  For  the  conception  prevailing 
among  these  two  peoples  regarding  the  rela- 


EDUCATION  WITHOUT  RELIGION  97 

tion  of  man  and  of  his  duty  to  the  Superior 
Being,  whether  that  Being  be  interpreted  as 
personal  or  impersonal,  differs  fundamentally. 
It  is  customary,  or  at  least  not  unusual,  for 
the  American  to  say  that  no  one  can  do  his 
finite  duty  properly  without  recognizing  the 
relation  of  this  duty  to  an  ultimate  Being ;  for 
this  finite  duty  has  infinite  consequences. 
But  the  Japanese  say,  if  one  does  his  finite 
duty  as  best  he  can,  he  is  in  that  very  doing 
properly  relating  himself  to  infinite  being.  The 
American  method  proceeds  somewhat  from 
the  unknown  and  remote  to  the  known  and 
the  near ;  the  Japanese  from  the  known  and 
the  present  to  the  unknown  and  remote. 
The  American  might  be  called  the  more  philo- 
sophic, the  Japanese  the  more  scientific. 

If,  however,  any  system  of  religion  were  to 
be  taught  in  the  government  schools  and  col- 
leges of  Japan,  that  religion  would  be  the 
Christian.  For,  though  the  Court  is  formally 
allied  with  Shintoism,  yet  the  principles  of 
Christianity  are  the  principles  which  would 
more  readily  be  accepted  by  the  people.  The 


98  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

distinction,  however,  is  made  between  what 
may  be  called  the  Christianity  of  the  Fom 
Gospels,  and  the  Christianity  of  America,  or 
of  England,  or  of  Germany.  National  Chris- 
tianity has,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Japanese, 
come  to  be  encumbered  by  either  specula- 
tions or  formalisms,  which  serve  to  separate 
it  from  Christ's  Christianity.  Christ's  Chris- 
tianity, it  is  held,  represents  the  two  principles 
of  supreme  love  to  God,  and  a  love  for  one's 
neighbor  as  great  as  the  love  for  one's  self. 
Such  a  reHgion,  simply  conceived  and  simply 
stated,  would  be  accepted  by  the  Japanese 
with  probably  greater  satisfaction  than  any 
other.  But  even  so  simple  a  declaration  of 
the  faith  of  Christ  could  not,  under  the  pres- 
ent conditions,  be  taught  in  the  government 
schools. 

Yet  by  some  people  the  failure  to  give  re- 
ligious tuition  is  felt  as  a  great  defect  in  the 
cause  of  pubhc  education.  At  least,  one  en* 
deavor  has  been  attempted  to  find  relief.  The 
author  of  it  is  Professor  Tanamoto,  professor 
of   pedagogy  in   the    University   of  Kyoto. 


EDUCATION  WITHOUT  RELIGION  9f 

Professor  Tanamoto's  method  includes  these 
elements:  observation  of  and  communication 
with  nature,  reading  of  the  holy  scriptures  as 
found  in  any  literature,  including  of  course  the 
New  Testament,  the  telling  of  stories  regarding 
religious  duty  and  devotion,  and  prayer.  In 
these  elements  and  exercises,  he  believes,  all 
children  and  their  teachers,  of  whatever  denom- 
inational faith,  can  unite.  Prayer  would  be  an 
act,  or  mood,  or  petition,  addressed  to  the  Be- 
ing whom  the  petitioner  regarded  as  Supreme. 
It  is,  however,  to  be  feared  that  such  an 
attempt  made  in  Japan  is  doomed  to  failure, 
as  it  would  be  in  America.  Such  a  method  of 
religious  instruction  and  impressiveness  lacks 
the  inspiration  of  personality  and  the  force  of 
definite  conceptions  of  truth.  But  Japanese 
schools  are  face  to  face  with  the  problem — 
as  are  the  institutions  of  our  own  country 
—  of  finding  a  religious  faith  which  is  so 
broad  that  it  can  be  taught  in  all  schools,  si 
definite  that  its  truths  can  be  apprehended  by 
the  minds  of  children,  so  forceful,  too,  that  its 
teaching  shall  aid  in  the  making  of  right  habits 


100         EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

of  conduct,  and  in  the  formation  of  sound 
character.  In  the  endeavor  to  find  a  solution 
for  this  most  serious  problem  of  all  humanity, 
a  solution  which  shall  be  philosophically  sound 
and  religiously  impressive  and  formative,  the 
great  nation  of  the  West  and  the  most  ad- 
vanced nation  of  the  East  should  each  aid  the 
other. 

But  in  the  present  absence  of  religious 
teaching,  Japan  is  emphasizing  instruction  in 
ethics.  This  instruction  is  a  required  part 
of  the  course  in  practically  every  year  of  the 
thirteen  which  precede  admission  to  the  uni- 
versity. No  nation  is  making  a  more  ear- 
nest, a  more  constant,  or  a  more  consistent 
endeavor  to  give  ethical  instruction.  A  series 
of  text-books  has  been  prepared  by  Doctor 
Nakashima,  professor  of  ethics  in  the  Impe- 
rial University,  himself  a  graduate  of  Western 
Reserve,  and  a  student,  under  President  Por- 
ter, at  Yale,  and  at  Jena.  The  works  and  the 
teaching  are  graduated  to  the  presumed  intel- 
lectual and  moral  development  of  the  pupil  at 
the  different  ages  from  six  up. 


EDUCATION  WITHOUT  RELIGION        101 

The  reason  of  this  extreme  devotion  to 
ethics  is,  like  most  reasons  for  the  presence 
of  any  study  in  the  curriculum,  manifold.  One 
such  reason  may  be  found  in  the  very  absence 
of  religious  teaching.  Because  of  this  absence, 
the  rebound  to  ethical  instruction  may  be  all 
the  stronger.  But  there  is  a  further  and  more 
impressive  cause. 

The  reputation  which  Japan,  as  a  nation, 
has  is  that  of  the  common  prevalence  of 
commercial  dishonesty.  As  Professor  George 
Trumbull  Ladd  —  than  whom  Japan  has  no 
truer  friend  —  said  in  a  lecture  given  in  the 
winter  of  1906-07  in  Osaka:  — 

The  impression  is  that  there  is  a  certain 
lack  of  these  essential  virtues  of  trueness  and 
justness  among  a  large  proportion  of  your 
business  men.  I  have  been  myself,  as  a  friend 
of  Japan,  compelled  to  explain  and  to  apolo- 
gize for  this  over  and  over  again,  by  pointing 
out  the  historical  conditions  under  which  the 
nation  has  come  so  rapidly  forward  into  the 
modern  business  world.  I  have  explained  also 
by  affirming  that  a  very  considerable  part  of 
the  impression  is  due  to  misapprehension. 

That  Japan  feels  keenly  the  evil  reputation 


102  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

under  which  many  of  her  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial interests  labor  is  clear.  To  the  fact 
of  this  reputation  the  government  is  not  blind. 
The  government  seems  determined  to  do 
whatever  can  be  done  to  remove  this  evil 
name.  Instruction  in  ethics  in  all  public 
schools  is  a  natural  method.  With  this  method 
of  the  government  the  people  sympathize. 
The  common  idea  has  been  well  expressed  by 
Professor  Ladd,  also,  in  an  address  given  re- 
cently before  some  members  of  the  House  of 
Peers  on  the  future  of  Japan,  published  in 
both  Japanese  and  English  :  "  The  element  of 
morality,  of  ethical  education  and  discipline, 
must  enter  into  all  this  training  of  the  younger 
generation,  if  the  highest  successes  in  the 
pursuits  of  peace  are  to  be  attained."  It  is 
also  to  be  remembered  that  the  fundamental 
note  in  the  Imperial  Kescript  of  1890  con- 
cerning  education  was  the  worth  of  the  moral 
virtues,  and  the  duty  of  giving  and  receiving 
education  in  morality. 

Near  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  decade  of 
the  last  century,  Bismarck  came  to  realize  that 


EDUCATION  WITHOUT  RELIGION        103 

Germany  was  suffering  from  the  reputation 
of  her  manufacturers  and  merchants  for  dis- 
honesty and  trickery.  The  manifesto  which  he 
put  forth  in  consequence  had,  it  is  believed, 
much  influence  in  removing  the  condition  and 
its  cause.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the 
name  of  Japanese  merchants  for  honest  deal- 
ing is  fairer  to-day  than  at  any  time  in  the 
generation.  This  improved  reputation  is  based 
on  facts.  The  teaching  of  ethics  in  the  schools 
is  the  great  cause  of  this  improvement.  For 
Japan  is  determined  both  to  seem  honest  and, 
what  she  is  coming  to  know  is  more  impor- 
tant, to  be  honest. 


THE   JAPANESE  AS  ADMINISTKATORS 

The  history  of  the  Russian-Japanese  War  has 
given  rise  to  the  impression  that  the  Japanese 
are  great  administrators.  Did  not  the  methods 
and  results  of  this  war  manifest  the  highest 
forces  of  administration,  — promptness,  fore- 
thought, regard  for  sanitation,  caution,  cour- 
age, energy,  efficiency  ?  The  war  did  manifest 
all  these  elements,  but  before  assuming,  there- 
fore, that  they  are  characteristic  of  the  Japa- 
nese people,  it  must  be  remembered  that  in 
this  war  the  old  samurai  spirit  was  the  rul- 
ing force.  This  spirit  may  well  be  said  to 
represent  the  chief  qualities  which  constitute 
worthy  administration.  But  the  samurai  spirit, 
at  once  less  limited  than  in  the  feudal  period, 
and  less  strong,  is  weakest  among  the  non- 
military  classes,  who  are  engaged  in  admin- 
istrative or  similar  services.  Besides  the  pre- 
sence of  the  samurai  spirit,  it  is  to  be  remem- 


THE  JAPANESE  AS  ADMINISTRATORS    105 

bered  that  the  Japaoese  were  preparing  for 
this  war  for  at  least  ten  years.  This  prepara- 
tion was  made  by  military  and  naval  experts. 
Furthermore,  it  has  been  said  that  the  Japa- 
nese did  not  so  much  win  battles  as  the  Rus- 
sians lost  them. 

Aside  from  this  questionable  evidence  pro- 
vided by  the  war,  why  should  we  expect  the 
Japanese  to  be  gifted  with  administrative 
skill?  Would  not  the  life  and  the  character 
of  the  people  for  generations  lead  to  the  neces- 
sary conclusion  that  in  such  skill  and  power 
they  would  be  preeminently  deficient?  There 
are,  at  least,  four  conditions  which  intimate 
that  the  Japanese  as  a  people  could  not  at 
the  present  time  be  naturally  efficient  admin- 
istrators. 

One  condition  lies  in  the  lack  of  knowledge, 
of  observation,  and  of  power  of  supervision. 
The  Japanese  do  not  know  how  to  do  things ; 
they  have  seldom  seen  things  done  as  they 
ought  to  be  done.  Some  leaders  have  seen, 
and  do  understand  and  appreciate.  Most,  how- 
ever, live  in  ignorance  of  wise  administrative 


106  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

methods,  and  are  without  a  conception  of  the 
nature  of  strong  administrative  force.  A  pain- 
ful example  of  this  lack  of  experience  may  be 
found  in  the  hospitals.  We  have  heard  much 
of  the  splendid  field  hospitals  and  excellent 
sanitary  conditions  maintained  during  the  war. 
But  these  were  planned  and  supervised  by 
military  experts,  leaders  drawn  from  that  small 
class  of  those  who  do  understand  and  appre- 
ciate. The  civil  hospitals,  although  the  most 
important  ones  are  a  part  of  the  equipment  of 
the  Imperial  Universities,  have  not  such  effec- 
tive administration.  One  of  the  first — if  not 
the  first — of  requisites  in  the  administration  of 
a  hospital,  be  it  great  or  small,  is  cleanliness. 
So  essential  is  this  quality  that  its  presence  is 
not  to  be  commended,  but  its  lack  warrants 
severest  condemnation.  The  simple  fact  is 
that  the  great  university  hospitals  are  not 
clean.  The  evidence  of  uncleanness  makes  its 
constant  appeal  to  at  least  two  senses.  The 
larger  a  hospital  the  greater  the  need  of  care 
in  securing  cleanliness.  The  Kyoto  hospital 
has  five  hundred  beds,  an^  treats  every  year 


THE  JAPANESE  AS  ADMINISTRATORS    107 

more  than  two  hundred  thousand  out-patients. 
The  Tokyo  hospital  is  still  larger,  treating 
three  hundred  thousand  out-patients  each  year. 
But  lack  of  system  in  maintaining  the  simplest 
hygienic  conditions  is  painfully  evident.  In 
fact,  a  Tokyo  university  professor,  of  Ameri- 
can education  and  training,  long  resident  in 
Japan,  has  said  that  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  no  public  hospital  in  Japan  is  clean. 
Similar  evidence,  though  in  some  respects  less 
important,  is  offered  by  the  hotels.  Super- 
vision is  usually  lacking ;  knowledge  of  what 
is  a  good  hotel  is  also  lacking;  and  the  result 
of  inefi&ciency  is  inevitable. 

This  lack  of  experience  is  closely  related  to 
a  common  oriental  condition,  the  lack  of  the 
sense  of  the  value  of  time.  The  Japanese,  like 
most  peoples  except  those  of  the  farther  West, 
do  not  usually  conceive  of  events  as  having 
a  close  relation  to  the  category  of  time.  They 
know  the  limitations  of  space  far  better  than 
those  of  the  other  Kantian  category  of  time. 
What,  therefore,  should,  to  the  Western  mind, 
be  done  this  morning  may  be  deferred  to  this 


108  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

afternoon ;  what  should  be  done  to-day  may 
be  put  off  until  to-morrow ;  and  what  should 
be  done  this  week  or  this  month,  can  just  as 
well  be  done  next  week  or  next  month.  We 
are  told  that  it  is  impolite  to  be  prompt  in 
keeping  an  engagement, — promptness  might 
make  the  other  person  hurry.  Such  an  intel- 
lectual conception  of  the  value  of  time  leads 
to  practical  procrastination. 

The  oriental  training  in  the  habit  of  obedi- 
ence also  necessitates  inefficiency.  This  ele- 
ment of  feudalism  still  abides  as  a  common 
heritage  and  condition.  The  few  were  and  are 
fitted  to  command,  to  direct,  to  inspire;  the 
many  were  and  are  obedient  subjects  and  sub- 
ordinates. The  power  of  initiative  is  lacking. 
In  that  superb  field  for  the  use  of  administra- 
tive talent  of  the  highest  order,  the  railroad, 
this  lack  of  initiative  is  evident.  Many  items 
might  be  named,  but  to  one  or  two  only  do 
I  call  attention.  Japan  is  subject  to  frequent 
and  heavy  floods.  Every  spring  or  fall  the  road- 
beds of  the  more  important  railways  are  washed 
away.  The  repairs  are  restorations  merely,  not 


THE  JAPANESE  AS  ADMINISTRATORS    109 

improvements,  and  the  next  inundation  re- 
peats the  disaster.  Before  such  a  disaster  oc- 
curring for  the  tenth  or  twentieth  time,  the 
Japanese  mind  seems  to  be  as  blind,  the  Jap- 
anese hand  as  helpless,  as  at  the  first  occur- 
rence. To  cite  a  representative  incident:  a 
recent  flood  was  unusually  severe,  and  some 
of  its  devastations  created  problems  which  il- 
lustrate the  helplessness  of  the  Japanese  rail- 
road manager.  At  a  point  some  ten  miles  out- 
side of  Tokyo  the  tracks  became  submerged 
to  the  depth  of  several  feet,  and  for  a  distance 
of  several  miles.  Trains  from  the  north  were 
run  up  to  the  edge  of  this  inland  sea ;  but  for 
transportation  across  the  water  no  regular 
facilities  were  provided.  The  Japanese  quality 
of  imitation  has  been  magnified  perhaps  un- 
duly, but  it  is  safe  and  just  to  say  that  this 
quality  is  far  more  conspicuous  than  the 
quality  of  origination.  Japan  has  been  an 
obedient  student  rather  than  a  forthputting 
teacher.  India,  through  China,  taught  her 
Buddhism,  and  China  taught  her  art  and 
literature.    She  has  ever  been  and  still  is  a 


110  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

learner,  and  in  her  learning  she  has  had  the 
grace  or  defect  of  submissiveness. 

I  also  believe  that  the  courtesy  of  the 
people  is  the  foe  of  efficiency  in  administra- 
tion. Whether  the  courtesy  be  fundamental 
or  superficial,  whether  the  courtesy  is  more 
essential  to  their  being  than  integrity,  is  not 
the  question;  but  that  the  courtesy  is  unflag- 
ging and  minute  is  evident.  Such  courtesy 
often  wars  against  the  policy  and  the  method 
of  doing  things.  Courtesy  has  regard  for 
other  persons'  prejudices,  principles,  wishes, 
limitations;  administrative  efficiency  has  re- 
gard for  the  accomplishment  of  results.  It  often 
overrides.  In  this  accomplishment  others'  prej- 
udices, principles,  wishes,  limitations,  may  be 
necessarily  despised,  neglected,  overcome.  But 
many  Japanese  would  be  unwilling  to  achieve 
such  results  at  such  a  sacrifice.  They  prefer 
courtesy  to  efficiency. 

Such  a  preference  is  a  part  of  the  senti- 
mentalism  which  some  wise  interpreters  have 
thought  is  the  fundamental  characteristic  of 
the  Japanese  people.  A  few  have  called  them 


THE  JAPANESE  AS  ADMINISTRATORS    111 

speculative,  more  have  called  them  poetical, 
but  most  would  agree  in  saying  that  senti- 
mental is  an  epithet  which  can  be  yet  more 
fittingly  applied.  Their  heart  reasons,  and 
their  intellect  feels. 

That  the  Japanese  may  become  great  ad- 
ministrators seems  to  me  almost  as  evident  as 
the  truth  that  they  are  not  now  such.  For 
Japan  is  a  nation  with  a  tremendous  capacity 
for  doing  or  for  being  that  which  she  wills  to 
do  or  to  be.  That  she  possesses  such  a  capacity 
is  one  of  the  greatest  lessons  of  the  momen- 
tous history  of  the  last  forty  years. 


VI 

JAPAN  AS  A  COLONIZING  AND 
EXPANDING  POWER 

Beneath  the  general  and  heated  discussion 
regarding  the  legal  or  illegal  exclusion  of  the 
Japanese  from  the  states  of  the  Pacific  Coast, 
beneath,  too,  the  debate  respecting  the  Japa- 
nese occupancy  of  Korea  or  any  one  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  lie  two  questions :  (1)  Can 
the  Japanese  colonize  and  expand?  and  (2) 
Will  they?  In  answering  the  first  question 
—  Can  the  Japanese  colonize  and  expand  ? — 
several  considerations  may  be  presented. 

(1)  The  increase  of  population, — the  popu- 
lation is  now  increasing  at  the  rate  of  almost 
five  millions  each  decade.  This  increase  arises 
almost  wholly  from  the  native  race  itself.  Japan 
is  the  paradise  of  babies,  both  in  numbers  and, 
it  may  be  added,  in  happiness. 

(2)  This  increase,  together  with  the  present 
population  of  fifty  millions  and  the  relatively 


JAPAN  AS  A  COLONIZING  POWER        113 

small  area  of  land,  represents  a  strong  expulsive 
force.  But  to  the  relatively  small  area  should  at 
once  be  added  the  fact  that  only  a  small  part 
of  this  area  can  be  cultivated.  I  find  that  econ- 
omists differ,  some  saying  that  this  part  is  only 
one  fifth,  and  others  going  so  far  as  to  declare 
that  only  one  thirteenth  can  produce  food  for 
man  or  beast.  But  it  is  at  least  clear  that  the 
means  of  subsistence  for  a  large  and  fast 
growing  people  is  small. 

(3)  The  love  of  the  people  for  themselves  is 
greater  than  their  love  for  Japan.  Their  regard 
for  territory  is  less  than  their  regard  for  the  na- 
tion. The  land  is  far  less  sacred  than  nation- 
ality. In  emigration,  therefore,  they  leave  what 
is  less  dear,  and  carry  along  with  them  the  holi- 
est symbol  of  their  patriotism,  —  themselves. 

(4)  A  spirit  which  we  call  the  spirit  of  pro- 
gress is  mighty.  The  Japanese  propose  to  make 
themselves  the  strongest  nation  that  is  possi- 
ble. This  purpose  is  held  by  all  classes.  The 
coolie  who  pulls  your  ricksha  is  inspired  by 
it  as  well  as  the  professor  in  the  university. 
The  spirit  is  at  the  present  time  more  exten- 


114  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

sive  than  intensive,  representing  rather  breadth 
than  depth.  It  includes  the  development  of  the 
public  school  system  and  the  foundation  of 
new  universities,  but  in  it  is  also  embraced 
the  expansion  of  Japanese  commerce  and  the 
going  forth  of  Japanese  people  into  all  parts. 
Such  enlargements  give  delight  and  a  sense 
of  glory  to  the  Japanese  soul. 

(5)  The  race  is  a  hardy  one.  The  members 
are  trained  to  labor,  and  labor  they  do,  from 
infancy  to  age.  The  older  children  bear  their 
younger  brothers  and  sisters,  strapped  to  their 
bending  backs.  Laborers  in  mills  and  clerks 
in  shops  have  long  hours  each  day,  and  some 
of  them  seven  days  each  week.  They  bear  heat 
and  cold  with  somewhat  of  that  indifference 
which  Tacitus  attributes  to  the  German  tribes. 
Their  food  is  small  in  quantity, — like  their 
compact  bodies, — and  simple,  and  upon  it 
they  flourish,  and  in  it  are  content.  Such  a 
race  can  find  a  fitting  home  in  the  islands  of 
the  southern  as  well  as  of  the  northern  Pa- 
cific, and  also  on  the  shores  of  any  ocean. 

(6)  The  Japanese  are  an  adjustable  people. 


JAPAN  AS  A  COLONIZING  POWER        116 

They  readily  fit  themselves  into  any  condition. 
One  might,  either  in  commendation  or  depre- 
ciation, say  that  they  are  the  great  imitators 
of  the  world.  But  this  power  of  imitation  is 
only  the  exterior  manifestation  of  a  deeper  and 
more  serious  power  of  adjustability.  In  France 
they  adopt  the  way  of  Frenchmen,  in  Germany 
of  Germans,  and  in  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
icans. They  are  afraid  of  seeming  to  be  pecul- 
iar, unusual,  extreme.  They  are  especially  afraid 
of  ridicule,  —  they  cannot  bear  to  be  laughed 
at.  They  are  never  guilty  of  swagger.  They 
are  more  obsequious  than  the  Frenchman,  and 
have  as  warm  a  desire  to  please  as  the  Amer- 
ican. Such  a  race  is  not  unwelcome  in  all  nor- 
mal parts  of  the  world,  and,  once  received,  its 
members  make  themselves  at  home. 

(7)  In  the  fact  that  the  nation  has  great 
leaders  is  found  an  element  of  its  colonizing 
and  expanding  power.  The  leadership  is  great. 
In  the  United  States  we  lament  the  absence  of 
worthy  leaders.  Life  seems  to  be  getting  ahead 
of  itself,  —  the  propelling  forces  are  stronger 
than  the  directive.  In  Japan  the  forces  that 


116  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

guide  have  become  far  superior  to  the  forces 
that  constitute  the  body  of  the  people.  The 
leaders  are  far  more  superior  to  the  commu- 
nity than  are  the  leaders  of  American  people 
superior  to  that  people.  The  Japanese  leaders, 
like,  for  instance,  Prince  Ito,  well  represent 
Burke's  definition  of  wisdom.  They  do  apply 
their  knowledge  to  public  affairs.  They  are 
far  abler,  more  honest,  more  unselfish  than 
Chinese  statesmen.  They  are  quite  as  scien- 
tific statesmen  as  the  world  can  offer.  In  them, 
too,  are  found  those  elements  of  soberness,  se- 
riousness, and  far-sightedness,  which  seem  to 
characterize  great  statesmen  of  every  age  and 
nation,  as  Peel,  Gladstone,  Bismarck.  Now,  be 
it  said  that  the  leaders  of  this  nation  clearly 
and  profoundly  recognize  that  emigration  is 
the  most  natural  method  of  extending  Japa- 
nese influence,  and  of  giving  happy  solution  to 
some  of  the  more  urgent  domestic  problems.  If 
Prince  Ito  could  take  a  million  of  his  fellow 
countrymen  to  Korea,  he  would  find  his  ad- 
ministrative problems  diminished  in  number 
and  simplified. 


JAPAN  AS  A  COLONIZING  POWER        117 

(8)  With  this  element  of  great  leadership 
should  be  linked  a  characteristic  of  the  people, 
the  characteristic  of  obedience.  The  origin  of 
this  element  is  variously  accounted  for, —  the 
relation  of  dependence  of  the  feudal  system, 
the  former  ignorance  of  the  people,  the  racial 
quality  of  non-resistance.  But,  of  whatever 
origin,  the  Japanese  are  a  people  obedient  to 
their  superiors.  The  obedience  begins  in  the 
home,  —  to  parents  ;  it  is  continued  in  the 
schoolroom, — to  teachers;  it  becomes  a  part 
of  life,  —  to  civil  authority.  It  is  said  that  the 
life  of  a  Japanese  woman  consists  of  three  obe- 
diences :  to  her  father,  her  husband,  her  mother- 
in-law.  The  man's  obediences  are  not  quite  so 
constant  or  close ;  but  the  general  atmosphere 
of  inferiority  and  subjection  in  which  he  lives 
is  not  unlike.  Thisatmosphere  was  of  peculiar 
significance  in  the  last  great  war. 

The  point,  therefore,  of  this  interpretation 
of  the  obedience  of  this  people  is  that  the 
wise  counsels  of  statesmen  urging  emigration 
will  find  a  quick  response  in  the  hearts  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  given. 


118  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

(9)  The  means  and  facilities  for  emigration 
and  for  defending  her  people,  when  they  have 
gone  forth  from  their  native  island,  Japan 
possesses.  She  has  two  or  three  great  steam- 
ship lines,  which  compare  well  with  such  fleets 
as  the  Hamburg- American  and  the  North  Ger- 
man Lloyd.  She  can  transport  her  people  eas- 
ily, swiftly,  economically,  to  any  shore.  There 
is,  too,  reason  to  believe  that  her  own  navy 
could  protect  them  well  upon  whatever  coast 
they  might  make  their  new  home. 

To  the  second  question.  Will  the  Japanese 
colonize  and  expand,  and  especially  will  they 
move  into  the  United  States  in  large  numbers, 
—  an  answer  of  some  degree  of  worth  may  be 
found  in  the  history  of  recent  immigration  to 
the  United  States  and  other  countries.  The 
whole  number  of  Japanese  living  in  this  coun- 
try at  the  present  time  is  less  than  150,000. 
About  one  half  of  this  number,  or  some 
65,000,  are  living  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands; 
about  40,000  are  in  California,  and  10,000  in 
the  State  of  Washington.  In  all  Canada  the 
number  is  less  than  10,000.  Certainly  the  race 


JAPAN  AS  A  COLONIZING  POWER        119 

of  50,000,000  has  not  shown  a  very  strong 
tendency  to  immigrate  into  the  New  World. 
To  move  to  other  parts  of  the  world,  they 
have  manifested  a  disposition  even  weaker.  All 
China  has  hardly  20,000  Japanese ;  and  till 
recent  movements  began,  Korea  had  only  42,- 
000.  All  Europe  has  hardly  even  a  thousand, 
and  about  one  half  of  this  number  are  found 
in  England.  It  seems  evident  that  less  than 
300,000  Japanese  are  living  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. The  number,  too,  who  are  going  out  of 
the  country  shows  certain  signs  of  decrease.  In 
the  year  1900  were  issued  40,000  passports  for 
Japanese  going  abroad ;  in  1904  the  number 
had  diminished  to  27,000;  and  in  1905  it  had 
fallen  to  19,000. 

Therefore,  despite  all  these  reasons  which 
show  their  capacity  for  and  the  probability  of 
their  emigration,  recent  history  and  present 
conditions  make  the  conclusion  inevitable  that 
the  Japanese  will  not  come  to  America  or  go 
to  any  foreign  country  in  large  numbers.  In 
fact,  the  statical  quality  in  this  nation,  as  in 
the  case  of  most  individuals,  is  mightier  than 


120  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

the  dynamical.  No  part  of  the  world  need  fear 
a  tidal  wave  of  people  from  the  Japanese  Is- 
lands, Instead  of  fearing  the  presence  of  a 
few  thousand  or  tens  of  thousands  more  in 
the  United  States  of  this  people,  the  emotion 
should  be  one  of  regret  that  they  will  not  come. 
As  students  and  as  laborers,  they  should  re- 
ceive a  hearty  welcome  from  both  the  United 
States  and  Canada. 

But,  of  course,  beneath  this  question  of  the 
colonizing  and  expanding  power  of  one  nation 
lies  the  vast  and  tremendous  question  of  the 
relations  of  all  nations  to  one  another,  —  re- 
lations economic,  social,  and  racial,  —  appar- 
ently the  great  question  of  the  next  genera- 
tions. The  present  problem  is  a  part  of  the 
more  and  most  extensive  and  complex  problem, 
the  problem  whether  all  parts  of  the  world 
are  for  all  peoples,  or  whether  certain  parts  are 
permanently  to  belong  to  certain  peoples. 


CHINA 


VII 

CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS 

The  Middle  Ages  gave  to  modern  life  two 
institutions  of  commanding  significance,  —  the 
church  and  the  university.  They  represent  the 
noblest  results  of  the  struggles  of  man  for  a 
thousand  years.  Modern  life  has  been  largely 
formed  by  them.  No  country  can  be  called 
civilized  till  it  has  developed  institutions  as 
exponents  of  the  lasting  and  fundamental 
instincts  of  its  people.  Some  institutions  of 
this  permanent  character  China  has  abeady 
developed;  others  are  still  in  the  process. 
China  may  be  called  a  civilized,  a  semi-civilized, 
or  a  barbarous  people,  according  to  the  value 
attached  to  the  various  institutions  already 
formed  or  still  forming. 

There  are  three  or  four  institutions  which 
would,  by  common  agreement,  be  regarded  as 
already  well  developed  in  the  Middle  Kingdom. 
The  government  is  the  first.    In  theory  an 


124  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

absolute  monarchy  it  is,  and  also  at  times  an 
absolute  monarchy  in  practice;  but  it  is  in 
some  respects  an  oligarchy,  or  a  constitutional 
monarchy,  without  a  constitution  in  either  the 
American  or  the  English  sense.  But,  of  what- 
ever precise  nature,  —  and  its  precise  nature  it 
would  be  difficult  to  interpret, — the  Chinese 
government  is  well  established.  Whatever 
may  happen  in  China,  and  no  one  knows  what 
will,  the  people  will  not  dissolve  into  a  condi- 
tion of  unrelated  civic  units.  The  government 
is  at  the  present  time  reactionary.  The  con- 
servative party  is  controlling.  But  the  liberal 
party  is  by  no  means  weak.  Its  position  is 
somewhat  strengthened  by  an  active  revolu- 
tionary party.  For  China,  like  her  northern 
neighbor,  has  internal  foes,  who  are  plotting 
to  overthrow  the  present  dynasty.  The  watch- 
word of  these  revolutionists  is,  '^  The  Manchus 
must  go."  For  their  expulsion  a  campaign 
constant  and  more  or  less  active  goes  on.  It 
is  urged  that  the  government  of  the  Manchus 
has  been  ineffective.  They  have  not  preserved 
the   integrity  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  It   is 


CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  125 

said  —  though  probably  without  much  truth 
—  that  the  revolutionary  party  comprises  in 
sympathy  at  least  no  less  than  one  third  of  all 
the  people.  No  significant  results  have  emerged 
upon  the  death  of  the  Empress  Dowager. 
The  belief  that  the  integrity  of  China  will  be 
preserved  by  the  United  States  and  by  the 
governments  of  western  Europe  has  greatly 
strengthened  in  recent  years. 

In  such  a  period  of  political  unrest  the  posi- 
tion of  the  army  becomes  of  great,  perhaps  of 
prevailing,  importance.  What  that  position 
would  be  no  one  dares  to  prophesy.  The  army 
of  a  nation  like  China  is  Hable  to  be  an  oppor- 
tunist army;  it  wishes  to  fight  on  the  winning 
side.  A  regiment  of  Chinese  troops  not  long 
ago  was  sent  into  a  province  to  quell  a  rebellion. 
^'On  which  side  are  you  going  to  fight,  —  of 
the  government  or  of  the  rebels?  "  was  asked 
one  of  the  officers.  *^I  don't  know,"  was  his 
reply;  "we  shall  wait  till  we  get  up  there 
before  we  decide."  If  it  should  seem  prob- 
able that  the  present  dynasty  will  be  able  to 
maintain  itself,  the  army  will  be  found  on 


126  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

the  side  of  the  throne,  with  a  fair  degree 
of  allegiance;  but  if  the  revolutionary  party 
should  be  able  to  make  a  great  show  of  strength 
and  good  promise  of  winning,  the  army  will 
be  divided. 

A  second  historic  institution  China  possesses, 
and  in  a  high  degree  of  development,  —  the 
family.  Perhaps  the  degree  is  too  high  for  the 
interests  of  a  progressive  civilization.  In  the 
United  States,  and  to  an  extent  in  England, 
the  great  growth  of  the  principle  of  individ- 
ualism has  caused  the  family  to  become  a  social 
unit  of  less  power  than  it  deserves.  In  recent 
years  the  endeavor  has  been  made  to  lift  and 
to  enlarge  the  place  which  the  family  occupies 
as  a  social  unit,  and  to  minimize  in  certain 
ways  excessive  individualism.  In  China  the 
opposite  condition  prevails,  and  ought  to 
prevail.  The  family  has  become  an  element  in 
a  system  of  religion.  Worship  of  ancestors 
has  become  a  duty.  To  disturb  a  tomb  is  one 
of  the  most  dastardly  of  sins.  The  grave  is 
made  an  altar.  The  dead  hand  rules.  But 
before  death,  the  family  system  prevails  as  a 


CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  12T 

mighty  social  force.  I  have  just  seen  a  picture 
of  four  generations  of  a  family  living  together, 
and  in  quarters  too  small  for  the  members 
of  a  single  generation.  Such  uniting  of  the 
family  is  not  good,  either  for  the  family,  as 
worthily  interpreted,  or  for  the  individual 
members  thereof,  or  for  the  community  of 
which  all  are  a  part.  We  in  America  who  are 
seeking  to  enlarge  the  social  place  and  func- 
tion of  the  family,  may  well  observe  the  con- 
ditions prevailing  in  the  ancient  Middle  King- 
dom. 

The  condition,  too,  of  the  Chinese  family 
bears  an  intimate  relation  to  the  holding  of 
property.  Property  belongs  less  to  the  individ- 
ual and  more  to  the  family  than  prevails  in 
the  Occident.  The  debts  of  one  member  may 
become  an  obligation  of  every  member  of  the 
family.  Gains,  as  well  as  losses,  are  commu- 
nistic. 

The  family  probably  represents  the  most  con- 
servative element  and  institution  of  Chinese 
life.  Its  conservatism  approaches  petrifaction. 
It  looks  to  the  future,  too,  as  well  as  to  the  past. 


128  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Its  purpose  is  to  beget  sons  who  shall  insure  its 
lasting  future.  But  to  attempt  to  alter  these 
conditions  of  the  past  or  of  the  future,  would 
result  in  evils  far  more  disastrous  than  any 
now  prevailing.  The  modern  movement  should 
recognize  and  appreciate  its  worth,  and  seek, 
so  far  as  it  may,  to  lessen  the  undue  social 
emphasis  which  is  placed  upon  it. 

Every  student  of  history  knows  how  impor- 
tant was  the  place  which  the  guild  filled  in  the 
society  of  the  Middle  Ages.  A  function  of  sim- 
ilar significance  the  guild  is  now  fulfilling  in 
China.  Whenever  and  wherever  a  monarchy 
is  weak,  individuals  are  prone  to  combine  for 
the  protection  and  promotion  of  their  interests, 
individual,  economic,  social.  In  province  and 
town  are  found  these  associations  of  trades- 
men, of  manufacturers,  and  of  workmen.  They 
are  trade  unions  rather  than  labor  unions.  They 
are  commercial  organizations  rather  than  social. 
They  are  formed  to  protect  their  business,  as 
a  primary  aim.  This  method  of  protection  lies 
in  laws  and  rules,  in  taxes  and  fines,  in  sym- 
pathy and  promise  of  cooperation.  Some  guilds 


CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  129 

are  possessed  of  large  property,  and  some  em- 
ploy regular  officials.  Their  existence  is  not 
observed  by  the  "looker-on  in  Venice";  but 
they  move  through  Chinese  life  a  strong, 
though  largely  invisible,  influence. 

China  also  enters  into  the  enlarging  life  of 
the  world,  having  the  greater  of  the  two  influ- 
ences which  represent  the  gifts  of  the  Middle 
Ages  to  modern  times :  Confucianism  has  been 
her  ethics ;  and  by  recent  edict  Confucianism 
has  become  her  religion.  Yet  when  one  has  so 
said,  he  is  inclined  at  once  to  modify  the  re- 
mark. For,  whatever  may  be  the  imperial  edict, 
Confucianism  is  ethical  and  not  religious.  Fur- 
thermore, imperial  edict  cannot  be  so  impera- 
tive, or  dowager  queen  or  emperor  so  impe- 
rious, as  to  transmute  Confucius  into  a  deity. 
To  pay  respects  to,  to  bow  at  the  tablet  of, 
Confucius  does  not  constitute  an  act  of  wor- 
ship, unless  there  be  the  sense  of  adoration  in 
the  heart  of  the  devotee.  The  testimony  of 
those  teaching  in  the  government  colleges  is 
to  the  effect  that  "  the  act  of  worship  "  at  the 
tablet  of  Confucius  is  not  held  to  be  worship. 


130  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

"  The  mood  of  the  student/'  said  a  teacher  to 
me,  ^^is  quite  like  the  mood  of  a  son  con- 
gratulating his  father  on  a  birthday." 

Religion,  too,  is  not  organized,  as  was  the 
church  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  temples  are 
vacant.  Many  of  them  have  become  school- 
houses.  Priests  have  little  influence,  and  this 
little  lessens.  Buddhism — an  exotic,  the  gift 
of  India — declines,  and  it  never  took  firm  hold 
of  the  Chinese  mind.  Therefore,  though  I  thus 
write  of  religion  being  an  institution  which 
China  can  use  in  her  struggle  for  her  own  civ- 
ilizing, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  its  worth 
is  more  atmospheric  than  institutional,  and  its 
place  belongs  rather  to  the  kingdom  of  this 
world  of  social  obligations  than  to  the  other 
and  unseen  world  of  the  eternities  and  the 
infinities. 

There  are  other  institutions  besides  these 
four — government,  family,  guilds,  and  re- 
ligion— which  China  possesses,  but  they  are 
in  the  making.  Chief  among  them  are  society, 
laws,  the  press,  and  the  currency. 

In  one  of  his  letters  Matthew  Arnold  writes 


"^-       CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  131 

of  the  worth  of  society  in  forming  opinion 
about  public  questions.  America  is  coming  to 
appreciate  the  worth  of  society  in  this  respect, 
as  she  has  for  a  long  time  understood  its  value 
in  ephemeral  and  narrow  relations.  But  China 
has  yet  wholly  to  learn  this  lesson,  which 
England  has  learned,  and  which  America  is  in 
the  process  of  learning.  For  it  may  be  said 
that  there  is  no  society  in  China,  in  the  sense 
in  which  the  term  is  understood  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  countries.  There  are  few  or  no  oppor- 
tunities for  men  and  women  to  meet  together 
for  the  sake  of  the  simple  enjoyment  of  the 
presence  of  one  another,  and  for  the  sake  of 
good  talk.  The  customs  of  the  country  forbid 
such  association.  The  loss  to  the  individual, 
and  to  the  whole  community  suffered  through 
such  disbarments,  is  very  serious.  The  weaker 
and  silly  side  of  society  in  Anglo-Saxon  na- 
tions is  liable  to  blind  one  to  the  real,  large, 
and  permanent  good  which  is  accomplished 
by  it.  But  when  one  compares  even  the  less 
worthy  element  of  society  with  the  condition 
prevailing  in  a  community  in  which  there  is 


132  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

no  society  at  all,  the  great  worth  of  society  be- 
comes at  once  evident  and  impressive. 

There  are  at  least  two  evil  results  which 
either  directly  proceed  from  or  are  fostered 
by  the  lack  of  society.  They  are  gambling 
and  opium  smoking.  The  Chinese  are  the 
first  of  gambling  nations  as  they  are  also 
probably  the  most  addicted  to  the  opium  pipe, 
despite  recent  reforms.  Gambling  gratifies  a 
somewhat  early  developed  instinct  of  human- 
ity, the  instinct  for  speculation  and  for  taking 
chances.  And  as  a  distinguished  and  much 
traveled  Chinese  officer  said  to  me :  "  What 
are  my  countrymen  to  do?  They  —  the  ordi- 
nary people  —  do  not  read  much.  They  are 
shut  out  from  the  company  of  women  outside 
of  their  own  home.  What  is  left  to  them  bat 
dice  and  the  games  ?"  The  same  remark  might 
be  essentially  made  about  opium.  The  interest 
which  most  civilized  men  find  in  good  talk 
with  good  women  is  denied  Chinese  gentle- 
men. They  therefore  turn  for  interest  to  the 
opium  joint. 

A  great  movement  is  now  going  on   in 


CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  133 

China  to  suppress  the  use  of  opium.  The 
attack  upon  it  is  made  by  direct  prohibition. 
That  method  has,  of  course,  its  value.  But 
the  opium  habit  is  one  of  those  habits  which, 
like  the  alcohol  habit,  should  also  be  attacked 
by  indirection.  The  appetite  out  of  which  the 
opium  habit  springs  should  be  attacked.  This 
appetite  for  excitement,  for  interest,  for  get- 
ting outside  of  one's  self,  is  one  which  could 
and  should  be  ministered  unto  by  the  absorp- 
tions and  pleasures  of  good  society. 

China  is  also  in  need  of  that  institution  of 
social  democracy  known  as  the  press.  Some 
progress  has  been  made  both  in  the  freedom 
granted  to  it  and  in  the  number  of  its  journals. 
But  this  progress  has  been  small,  by  reason 
of  an  unreasonable  and  whimsical  censorship. 
Upon  this  point,  and  also  upon  the  whole 
question  of  the  worth  of  a  free  press  in  China, 
the  ablest  newspaper  published  in  China,  the 
"North  China  Daily  News,"  of  Shanghai,  said 
in  a  recent  editorial :  — 

From  time  immemorial  Chinese  newspa- 
pers, if  such  they  may  be  called,  from  the 


134  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

"Peking  Gazette"  downwards,  have  been 
little  more  than  official  publications,  over 
which  the  government  has  always  exercised 
a  rigid  censorship.  It  is  gratifying  to  notice, 
however,  that  the  power  of  the  press  is  begin- 
ning to  make  itself  felt  even  in  China,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  newspapers  will 
become  increasingly  an  important  factor  in 
the  affairs,  moral,  religious,  and  political,  of 
the  empire.  What  has  been  accomplished 
through  their  instrumentahty  in  other  lands, 
we  may  reasonably  expect  to  see  accomplished 
in  this  land  also.  Only  a  beginning  has  thus 
far  been  made,  and  the  thin  edge  of  the 
wedge  has  been  inserted.  What  will  be  ac- 
complished when  freedom  of  speech  and  of 
the  press  are  fully  accorded  ! 

The  institution  of  an  influential  press  is 
now  in  the  process  of  formation.  The  scholarly 
class  will  be  found  among  its  heartiest  sup- 
porters, and  the  increasingly  powerful  mer- 
cantile class  will  give  to  it  a  pecuniary  right 
which  it  has  not  usually  had.  The  press  will 
more  speedily  come  to  its  own  place  of  power 
than  will  the  institution  of  society. 

A  third  institution  which  China  needs  is  a 
body  of  laws  for  the  better  and  best  ordering 


CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  135 

of  society.  It  may  be  said  that  China  has,  in 
a  sense,  the  common  law.  It  has  a  body  of 
precedents,  which  are  of  great  value  in  pres- 
ent litigation.  But  all  judicial  questions  are 
now  made  to  depend  upon  the  mere  opinion 
of  the  judge,  in  a  way  which  cannot  minis- 
ter to  the  administration  of  justice  or  to  the 
betterment  of  humanity.  This  opinion  is  so 
subjected  to  venal  and  trivial  influences  that 
a  proper  conclusion  is  most  doubtful.  Justice 
is  indeed  blind,  and  it  has  an  empty  and  itch- 
ing palm.  A  body,  therefore,  of  laws  is  re- 
quired for  aiding  the  court  in  the  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

This  institution  of  the  law  might  fittingly 
carry  discussion  far  afield  into  the  question 
of  the  establishment  of  a  parliament,  and  also 
of  the  making  of  a  constitution.  For  intima- 
tions of  such  an  establishment  and  of  such 
a  making  of  a  written  fundamental  law  have 
been  heard.  But,  be  it  briefly  said,  the  opin- 
ion is  common  that  China  is  not  yet  prepared 
for  either.  A  constitutional  monarchy  requires 
a   degree  of  intelligence  and  of  interest  in 


136  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

government  which  the  four  hundred  millions 
of  Chinese  do  not  possess.  Education  must  do 
its  great  work  for  a  people,  in  order  to  prepare 
them  to  administer  a  great  government  with 
effectiveness. 

There  is  a  fourth  institution  direfuUy  needed 
in  China,  the  institution  of  a  stable  and  uni- 
form currency.  The  empire  has  many  cur- 
rencies, and  of  diverse  value.  They  are  more 
numerous  than  the  dialects,  and  even  more 
troublesome.  The  difficulty  of  establishing 
one  uniform  currency  for  the  whole  kingdom 
is  well  set  forth  by  Commissioner  H.  B.  Morse, 
who  is  just  now  finishing  a  great  career  cov- 
ering a  generation  in  the  Chinese  Customs 
Service.     Mr.  Morse  says :  — 

The  tax-collector  .  .  .  will  fight  strenu- 
ously against  any  obligation  to  pay  into  the 
Treasury  the  exact  coin  which  he  has  received 
from  the  taxpayer.  The  powerful  body  of 
Chinese  bankers,  organized  as  such  when 
Europe  did  not  yet  know  the  science,  will 
accept  the  change  only  if  they  are  shown  the 
possibility  of  greater  profits  than  under  exist- 
ing conditions.  .  .  .  Even  the  native  mer- 
chants and  tradesmen,  who  will  benefit  enor- 


CHINESE  INSTITUTIONS  137 

mously  by  the  simplification  of  the  currency, 
will  also  oppose  a  change  from  the  present 
system,  in  which  each  man  counts  confidently 
on  getting  the  better  in  the  encounter  of  wits. 
Ordinarily  the  proletariat  remains  neutral  in 
such  a  question,  but  in  China  the  merest 
coolie,  earning  sixpence  by  a  long  day  of  hard 
work,  will  spend  an  hour  of  his  time  to  gain 
an  exchange  of  ten  minutes'  work/ 

Thus  difficult  it  is  to  attempt  any  reform  of 
the  money  system  of  this  great  empire  of  di- 
verse and  conflicting  interests. 

These  four  institutions  —  society,  a  free 
press,  a  proper  body  of  laws,  and  a  uniform 
currency  —  are  needed  in  China.  The  need 
will  finally  be  filled,  but  generations  will  be 
born  and  die  before  the  desired  consumma- 
tions will  have  been  reached.  For  in  Cathay 
the  cycles  are  long,  very  long. 

*  The  Trade  and  Administration  of  the  Chinese  Empire f  pp. 
168, 169. 


VIII 

THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA 

That  most  popular  simile  of  schoolboy  compo- 
sitions, of  Minerva  springing  full-armed  from 
the  head  of  Jupiter,  may  be  applied  to  the  new 
education  in  China.  From  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment the  new  education  came  forth  by 
imperial  edict.  The  edict  and  the  consequent 
commands  and  directions  present  a  fully  ar- 
ticulated scheme  of  education. 

Four  grades,  at  least,  of  education  are  made : 
(1)  The  primary  school,  of  five  years;  (2)  the 
common  school,  of  four  years ;  (3)  the  middle 
school,  of  five  years;  (4)  the  provincial  college, 
of  at  least  two  years,  and  for  some  students  (5) 
the  Imperial  University,  at  Peking,  of  such  a 
length  as  may  be  desired. 

Such  a  course,  covering  in  all  from  sixteen 
to  twenty  years,  represents  a  most  impressive 
endeavor  to  introduce  the  Western  system  of 
education  into  the  Middle  Kingdom. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        139 

The  system  is  indeed  Western,  but  it  is  West- 
ern colored  by  Japanese  influences.  The  mar- 
tial conqueror  of  China  has  become  her  teacher 
in  things  intellectual;  and  more  willing  has 
China  become  to  receive  her  conqueror  as  a 
teacher  since  this  teacher  has  become  the  con- 
queror also  of  Russia.  The  rapid  advancement 
of  Japan  to  a  place  among  the  great  nations 
gives  to  her  example  and  teachings  a  peculiar 
impressiveness.  Japan  in  turn,  it  may  be  added, 
found  in  Germany  and  America  her  intellec- 
tual and  pedagogical  models. 

The  Avon  to  the  Severn  flows,  the  Severn  to  the  sea, 
And  WyclifFe's  dust  must  spread  abroad,  wide  as  the  waters 
be. 

The  content  of  this  prolonged  course  is 
quite  as  significant  of  the  modern  spirit  as  is 
its  length.  Throughout  the  nine  years  of  the 
primary  and  the  common  school,  Chinese  is 
the  chief  subject,  representing  ten  hours  a 
week.  Writing  covers  six  hours  the  first  year, 
but  diminishes,  becoming  only  two  hours  in 
the  ninth.  Arithmetic  begins  with  three  hours, 
but  increases  to  four  at  the  close  of  the  course. 


140         EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

History  and  geography  begin  in  the  fourth  year, 
each  subject  being  allowed  two  years;  but  in 
the  sixth  year  the  allowance  of  time  granted 
to  history  is  increased  one  hour.  In  each  year 
of  the  four  of  the  common  school,  some  science 
is  taught  two  hours  a  week,  and  drawing  one. 
Throughout  the  whole  period  two  hours  are 
given  to  ethics,  and  three  hours  to  physical 
drill. 

A  similar  scheme  of  equal  elaborateness  is 
prescribed  in  the  middle  school  of  five  years. 
In  this  whole  period,  Chinese  is  still  studied 
for  six  hours.  English  is  introduced,  being  al- 
lowed also  six  hours;  mathematics  is  continued 
for  four  hours,  including  algebra,  geometry, 
and  trigonometry,  as  well  as  arithmetic.  Draw- 
ing and  ethics  are  also  continued,  each  having 
one  hour,  and  physical  drill  still  has  its  for- 
mer allowance  of  three  hours.  Both  foreign 
and  Chinese  history  is  studied  in  the  first  two 
years  four  hours,  and  in  the  last  three  years 
three  hours,  a  week.  Such  are  the  "  constants  " 
of  this  higher  school  course.  In  addition,  the 
"variables"  are  significant.    For  four  years 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        141 

geography  commands  two  hours  a  week.  For 
three  years  four  hours  a  week  are  given  to 
sciences,  in  which  chemistry  and  physics  fit- 
tingly occupy  a  leading  place ;  and  allied  with 
them  are  physiology  and  hygiene,  physical 
geography,  geology,  and  mineralogy.  But  the 
sciences  are  not  suffered  entirely  to  exclude 
Kterary  studies,  for  political  economy  and  law 
are  studies  of  two  hours  a  week  each  for  the 
last  year  of  the  long  course. 

The  student  who  has  completed  these  three 
schools,  the  primary,  the  common,  and  the 
middle,  covering  in  all  no  less  than  fourteen 
years,  has  reached  the  age  of  at  least  twenty, 
—  the  age  of  the  ordinary  sophomore  in  the 
American  college.  On  reaching  this  stage  he 
may  pass  on  to  the  college  of  his  province.  He 
may  enter  the  normal  school,  preparing  him- 
self to  be  a  teacher  to  his  countrymen,  in  a 
course  covering  either  one  year  or  three  years. 
This  school  includes  such  subjects  as  would 
be  found  in  a  good  American  normal  school. 
Or,  this  graduate  of  a  middle  school  may  de- 
sire, probably  does,  to  become  an  official.  In 


142         EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

this  case  he  enters  a  special  school.  The  pro- 
spectus of  one  of  these  schools,  that  at  Ningpo, 
says :  — 

To  teach  the  modern  methods  of  law  and 
government,  especially  as  they  are  related  to 
those  of  China,  and  laying  emphasis  on  the 
study  of  Japanese  law  and  methods  of  govern- 
ment. Resident  students  must,  previous  to 
their  entrance,  have  taken  a  Chinese  degree,  or 
be  graduates  of  a  middle  school.  The  course 
extends  over  two  years,  and  the  students  who 
have  been  successful  in  their  examinations 
will  receive  certificates,  and  will  then  be  recom- 
mended by  the  prefect  to  the  governor  for 
official  appointment,  or  for  further  study  in 
Peking. 

The  course  of  study  includes  commercial 
law,  theory  of  government,  international  law, 
penal  law,  judicial  law,  army  organization, 
Japanese,  and  a  little  English. 

Such,  in  bare  and  bald  outline,  is  the  edu- 
cational system  which  China  has  adopted.  As 
a  system,  comprehending  the  chief  subjects  of 
modern  learning,  it  deserves  and  receives  the 
highest  commendation.  The  government  merits 
great  praise  for  laying  such  foundations  under 
most  serious  difficulties. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        143 

Schools  to  teach  these  studies  have  been 
established  throughout  the  empire.  Some  of 
the  schoolhouses  are  large  and  impressive 
structures.  Thousands  of  these  schools  are 
now  trying  to  educate  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  Chinese  boys  and  girls.  The  spectacle  is 
one  of  the  mightiest  triumphs  of  education 
and  of  government  ever  known,  despite  all  the 
baitings  and  failures  to  which  the  undertaking 
is  subjected. 

In  carrying  out  the  system,  the  making  of 
text-books  has  become  an  important  factor. 
Text-books  have  been  produced  in  enormous 
quantity  and  of  great  variety.  Many  of  them 
are  translations  of  English  or  Japanese  text- 
books. In  some  of  them  the  Japanese  influence 
is  strong.  Of  all  these  books,  perhaps  none 
are  more  important  than  the  Chinese  national 
readers.  The  series  contains  readings  on  sub- 
jects of  all  sorts, — scientific,  historical,  ethical. 
It  may  be  added  that  these  books  frequently 
argue  against  superstition  and  idolatry.  One 
who  knows  them  has  said  that  they  contain 
nothing  which  opposes  Christianity.  But  be- 


144         EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

sides  this  series  are  numerous  others,  especially 
in  the  sciences.  History  is  also  well  repre- 
sented. 

But  more  important  than  the  system  of  edu- 
cation or  the  text-book  is  the  teacher.  The 
old  Chinese  teacher  does  not  easily  lend  him- 
self to  the  new  order.  He  is  by  nature  conserv- 
ative. He  clings  to  the  old  methods.  He  is 
himself  so  wedded  to  the  old  that  he  confesses 
to  a  sort  of  intellectual  awkwardness  when  he 
tries  to  use  the  new  learning  and  the  new 
methods.  He  keeps  himself,  in  his  fear  of 
making  mistakes,  closely  to  his  text-book.  He 
still  emphasizes  the  value  of  memory.  He  him- 
self is  not  a  thinker,  and  he  is  not  inclined  to 
adopt  methods  which  quicken  thinking  in  his 
students.  Modern  pedagogy  is  to  him  so  new 
a  science  and  art  that  either  he  has  little  ap- 
preciation of  its  worth,  or,  if  he  is  able  to 
appreciate,  he  is  not  able  to  use  it  with  facility 
and  efficiency. 

The  teacher,  the  text-book,  and  the  course 
of  study  are  all  designed  for  the  advantage  of 
the  student.  The  Chinese  student  has  a  mind 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        145 

strong  and  virile.  The  mental  quality  is  akin 
to  the  physical.  But  his  mind,  like  the  feet  of 
his  sisters,  has  been  fettered  by  ages  of  un- 
reasoning Hmitations.  The  education  of  his 
forefathers  has  been  either  no  education  at  all, 
or,  if  it  has  existed,  it  has  been  unreasoning 
and  irrational.  He  himself  in  his  newly  found 
freedom  feels  himself  strange ;  he  sees  men  as 
trees  walking.  But  gradually  he  is  finding 
himself.  His  conception  of  education  is  rather 
of  a  vocation  than  of  culture.  The  vocation 
may  take  on  somewhat  of  a  materialistic  basis 
and  color.  He  desires  those  physical  advan- 
tages which  education  is  supposed  to  create. 
"  What  are  you  going  to  do?"  asked  a  teacher 
of  a  graduate — an  able  man  —  of  Nang  Yang 
College.  "  Commerce,"  was  the  answer.  "And 
why  commerce?"  persisted  the  questioner; 
"  is  it  for  the  sake  of  enriching  yourself,  or 
helping  your  country?"  The  reply  indicated 
that  the  purpose  was  not  altogether  altruistic. 
The  inspiring  motives  of  the  casting  off  of 
the  old  education  and  the  adoption  of  the  new 
are  manifold.  The  immediate  occasion  is,  un- 


146  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

doubtedly,  the  failure  of  the  Boxer  movement 
of  1900.  The  entrance  of  the  allied  forces  into 
Peking  in  the  summer  of  that  year  was  the 
entrance  of  intellectual  light  quite  as  much  as 
of  armies.  The  government  became  aware,  as 
perhaps  never  before,  that  there  was  a  world 
outside  of  China,  and  superior  in  at  least  some 
respects  to  China. 

Connected  with  this  occasion  is  the  rise  of 
Japan  into  a  place  as  a  world-power.  China 
saw  and  was  moved.  She  saw,  moreover,  that 
the  rise  of  Japan  was  due,  in  part  at  least, 
to  education.  China,  therefore,  determined  to 
adopt  similar  means  and  methods.  She  went 
about  the  business  of  education.  Japanese 
methods  and  text-books  she  adopted.  She  im- 
ported Japanese  teachers.  She  sent  thousands, 
even  tens  of  thousands,  of  her  young  men 
to  Japan,  to  Tokyo,  to  Waseda  University, 
and  to  other  schools.  Her  old  rival,  and  her 
conqueror,  became  her  teacher. 

A  third  cause  of  the  educational  advance- 
ment lies  in  the  force  of  the  progressive  men  of 
China.  The  character  of  Chang  Chih-Tung  — 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        147 

one  of  the  two  greatest  Chinese — and  his  writ- 
ing, as,  for  instance,  his  book,  "  China's  Only 
Hope,"  represent  a  mighty  influence.  Against 
hard  odds  and  good  fighters  do  the  progressive 
leaders  contend.  Chang  Chih-Tung  himself 
has  described  them  in  his  book :  — 

The  anti-reformers  may  be  roughly  divided 
into  three  classes  :  — 

First,  the  conservatives,  who  are  stuck  in 
the  mud  of  antiquity.  The  mischief  wrought 
by  these  obstructionists  may  be  readily  per- 
ceived. 

Second,  the  slow  bellies  of  Chinese  offi.ciaI- 
dom,  who  in  case  of  reform  would  be  com- 
pelled to  bestir  themselves,  and  who  would  be 
held  responsible  for  the  outlay  of  money  and 
men  necessary  for  the  changes.  The  secret 
machinations  of  these  befuddled,  indolent, 
slippery  nepotists  thwart  all  schemes  of  re- 
form. They  give  out  that  it  is  not  "  conven- 
ient," and  in  order  to  cloak  their  evil  deeds 
rehearse  the  old  story,  the  usual  evasive  drivel 
about  "  old  custom."  And  if  we  attempt  to 
discover  what  this  precious  old  custom  in  the 
matter  of  education  and  government  is,  there 
will  be  remonstrances  on  all  sides.  Old  custom 
is  a  bugaboo,  a  password  to  lying  and  deceit. 
How  can  any  one  believe  it  ? 

Third,  the  hypercritics.^ 

1  China's  Only  Hope,  p.  123. 


148  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAK  EAST 

But  against  such  forces  the  reform  party 
has  won,  and  is  still  winning;  though  no 
prophet  would  intimate  how  long  it  will  prove 
to  be  victorious. 

But,  above  all,  the  missionary  and  Chris- 
tian forces  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  represent  a 
permanent  cause  of  her  interest  in  education. 
Christianity  has  not  been  in  China  for  three 
hundred  years,  or  for  a  hundred  years  with 
special  power,  for  nothing.  Christianity  is  far 
more  than  a  religion.  It  is  an  education.  The 
church  and  the  schoolhouse  historically  stand 
side  by  side.  The  priest  is  also  a  teacher. 
Protestant  Christianity  has  for  the  last  hun- 
dred years  in  its  missionary  propagandism 
given  special  heed  to  education.  Such  a  force 
operating  for  generations,  even  in  a  most  con- 
servative society,  could  not  fail  to  effect  results 
of  comprehensive  and  of  definite  significance. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  four  occa- 
sions and  motives,  not  to  mention  others, 
China  has  entered  into  the  work  of  educa- 
tion. She  has  come  to  realize  that  the  work  is 
more  complex  and  more  difficult  than  it  seemed 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION   IN  CHINA        149 

five  years  ago.  She  undertook  the  tremendous 
task  without  proper  forethought.  It  was  a 
leap  in  the  dark.  But  the  leap  was  taken,  and 
the  consequences  of  taking  it  she  must,  for 
better  or  for  worse,  endure. 

One's  heart,  therefore,  goes  out  in  great 
interest  to  the  educationists  of  China.  For  the 
difficulties  which  beset  them  are  very  serious. 
I  doubt  if  in  the  history  of  the  world  diffi- 
culties more  serious  have  beset  those  whose 
duty  it  is  to  estabHsh  and  to  promote  a  system 
of  education. 

One  difficulty  lies  in  the  necessary  doubt 
regarding  the  sincerity  and  earnestness  of  the 
Chinese  government  in  its  endeavor  to  foster 
the  education  of  its  people.  The  government 
may  be  honest  in  the  desire  to  educate  :  it 
may  not  be.  Even  if  the  desire  be  real  as  far 
as  it  goes,  doubt  also  arises  respecting  the 
earnestness  and  fullness  of  this  desire.  The 
edicts  abolishing  the  old  system  of  examina- 
tions followed  not  long  after  the  cataclysm  of 
the  summer  of  1900.  This  break  with  the  past 
seemed  one  of  the  inevitable  results  of  that 


160  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

catastrophe.  This  and  other  consequences  could 
not  be  avoided  by  the  Court,  however  con- 
servative were  the  governmental  tendencies. 
With  these  results  was  naturally  united  the 
necessity  of  giving  to  China  such  a  system  of 
education  as  had  seemed  to  lift  the  rest  of 
the  world  into  civilization.  But  into  it  China 
did  not  enter  with  that  spirit  which  moved 
the  German  people,  after  their  Napoleonic 
distresses,  into  education,  both  university  and 
common.  The  Germans  were  inspired  by  most 
personal  and  national  ambitions;  and  the  re- 
sult is  read  in  the  history  of  the  University 
of  Berlin.  The  Chinese  were  primarily  moved 
from  without :  the  degree  of  cooperation 
which  the  outside  influence  found  in  the 
Chinese  heart  was,  and  still  is,  a  matter  of 
grave  doubt.  This  element  of  doubt  in  the 
sincerity  and  earnestness  of  the  Chinese  heart 
in  promoting  public  education  is  a  chief  diffi- 
culty which  the  educationists  meet.  It  is  not 
a  stone  wall,  which  can  be  struck  down :  it  is 
a  malaria,  which  represents  conditions  that 
can  be  dealt  with  only  by  indirection. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  151 
A  second  difficulty  is  the  constant  change 
of  the  educational  purposes  of  "  the  authori- 
ties," and  also  the  no  less  constant  change  of 
these  authorities  themselves.  Shall  the  pro- 
vincial colleges  be  literary  or  scientific  institu- 
tions? If  scientific,  shall  they  train  agricul- 
turalists, or  mechanical,  or  civil,  or  electrical 
engineers?  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  these 
different  purposes  may  be  imposed  upon  the 
teachers  of  a  college  by  their  official  supe- 
riors,— superiors  who  are  superior  in  only  the 
official  sense.  Such  changes  are  disastrous.  No 
less  disastrous  are  the  changes  wrought  in  the 
transfer  of  governing  powers  from  one  official 
board  to  another.  At  one  time  Nang  Yang  Col- 
lege, at  Shanghai,  for  instance,  may  be  under 
the  charge  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  at 
another  under  the  charge  of  the  Board  of  Com- 
munications, Post  and  Telegraphic.  At  one 
time  a  college  may  have  a  president  who  serves 
as  the  source  of  immediate  authority,  at  an- 
other it  may  have  no  president,  but  be  gov- 
erned by  a  council.  The  changes,  too,  in  the 
viceroys  of  the  different  provinces  may  fun- 


152  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

damentally  affect  the  fortunes  of  a  college.  One 
viceroy  esteems  education  and  promotes  it ;  his 
successor  may  despise  it,  and  seek  to  limit  its 
progress.  All  these  conditions  throw  doubt 
into  that  most  important  part  of  college  admin- 
istration, —  the  budget.  Such  instability  is 
most  trying  and  perplexing  to  the  heart  and 
the  mind  of  the  educationists  of  China. 

Another  dif&culty  lies  in  the  divorce  which 
has  for  many  centuries  existed  in  China  be- 
tween the  scholar  and  the  man  of  affairs.  The 
scholar,  be  it  always  remembered,  has  from  the 
early  time  held  a  high  place  in  Chinese  so- 
ciety. The  learned  man  has  been  esteemed,  and 
learning  honored.  The  learning  has,  however, 
been  an  end  in  itself.  The  scholar  filled  his 
mind  with  the  paragraphs  and  the  sentiments 
of  the  old  moralists.  Such  stuffing  has  given 
him  pleasure.  That  his  knowledge  should  be 
of  any  worth  or  benefit  to  humanity  has  been 
quite  foreign  to  his  thought.  Most  egoistic 
has  he  been ;  and  the  community  has  been  con- 
tent to  let  him  be  egoistic.  But  modern  edu- 
cation has  for  its  primary  note  service.  It  is 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        153 

in  purpose,  method,  and  content  altruistic.  If 
it  promotes  scholarship  and  makes  scholars, 
it  looks  beyond  the  accumulation  of  know- 
ledge to  the  worth  which  this  wealth  may  prove 
to  be  to  humanity.  It  is  the  introduction  of 
this  altruistic  ideal  which  the  teachers  of  many 
Chinese  schools  find  of  great  difficulty. 

Allied  to  this  specific  cause  is  a  general  con- 
dition, out  of  which,  possibly,  the  cause  to  a 
degree  springs.  I  allude  to  the  doubt  which 
pervades,  at  least,  some  orders  of  Chinese  so- 
ciety regarding  the  real  worth  of  human  char- 
acter. Is  man,  the  ordinary  man,  worth  edu- 
cating? Is  it  well  for  man  to  seek  to  lift  man 
by  education?  Once  a  coolie,  why  not  always 
a  coolie  ?  Is  not  education  disquieting  to  the 
individual  and  disturbing  to  society  ?  Is  it  not 
better  for  man  to  be  half  blind  and  content, 
than  to  see  plainly  and  be  discontented?  Such 
questioning  is  in  the  air  at  Peking,  Wuchang, 
and  Shanghai.  It  serves,  if  not  to  eliminate 
education,  at  least  to  dull  its  enthusiasms. 

But  the  severest   difficulty  found   in  the 
progress  of  Chinese  education  lies  in  the  lack 


164  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

of  a  sufficient  number  of  good  teachers.  The 
government,  provincial  and  national,  went 
into  the  work  of  education  as  a  sort  of  leap 
into  the  dark.  It  adopted  and  created  the 
material  forms  and  forces  of  education,  which 
are  evident  and  impressive  enough.  It  built 
schoolhouses,  large,  and  of  high  walls.  In  not 
a  few  capitals  the  schoolhouses  are  the  most 
impressive  structures.  But  the  government 
failed  to  take  proper  account  of  the  fact  that, 
if  it  is  easy  to  build  a  schoolhouse,  it  is  hard 
to  get  a  teacher.  Teachers  cannot  be  made  in 
a  year,  as  can  a  schoolhouse.  The  govern- 
ment did  not  put  the  cart  of  the  school  before 
the  horse  of  the  teacher,  for  though  there  was 
a  cart  there  was  no  horse.  Teachers  in  a 
sense  are  grown ;  and  growth,  unlike  manu- 
facturing, takes  much  time.  Therefore,  while 
there  were  and  are  schoolhouses,  and  also 
pupils,  in  abundance,  too  great  abundance,  in 
a  sense,  there  was  and  is  a  dearth  of  teachers. 
The  gun  was  made  and  mounted,  but  there 
was  no  gunner  to  fire  it.  In  such  a  dearth  in- 
competency flourishes.    But  the  dearth  was 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        155 

and  is  so  great  that  the  number  of  even  incom- 
petent teachers  proves  to  be  insufficient.  Some 
schoolhouses  are,  therefore,  houses  without 
schools,  and  other  schoolhouses  are  only  half 
occupied.  In  such  a  condition  Japan  would 
even  now  be  plunged,  had  she  not  established 
normal  schools  —  and  some  excellent  ones, 
too  —  for  training  teachers.  This  need  of 
Japan,  President  Eliot  pointed  out  a  genera- 
tion ago.  China  has  normal  schools,  but  they 
are  new,  and  they,  too,  lack  proper  teachers. 
The  fact  is  that  China  went  into  this  great 
work  of  the  education  of  a  quarter  of  the 
population  of  the  globe  without  proper  pre- 
vision or  provision.  The  mission  schools  and 
colleges,  such  as  St.  John's,  at  Shanghai,  and 
the  North  China  Union  College,  near  Peking, 
are  implored  by  the  government  officials  to 
send  teachers  to  the  government  schools ;  but 
these  colleges  and  others  like  them,  in  many 
cases,  cannot,  simply  because  the  supply  is 
inadequate. 

It  may  be  said   that  the  dearth  of  good 
teachers  in  the  government  schools  of  China 


156  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

should  prove  to  be  an  impressive  fact  to  the 
American  man  who  is  about  graduating  at 
his  college.  Teachers  of  English  and  of  the 
sciences  are  specially  needed.  Many  motives, 
selfward  and  altruistic,  would  urge  him  to  go 
to  China  on  graduation.  He  can  earn  twice 
as  much  money  as  a  teacher  in  China  as  he 
can  at  home.  He  can  gather  up  into  his  man- 
hood experiences,  new,  diverse,  moving,  and 
enriching.  Whether  he  can  do  more  good 
than  at  home  is  a  personal  question,  in  which 
a  stranger  should  not  meddle.  But,  if  meet- 
ing responsive  minds,  eager  and  by  nature 
strong,  which  are  to  become  makers  of  other 
minds,  represents  an  opportunity  for  doing 
much  good,  certainly  the  Chinese  government 
schools  represent  a  very  rich  opportunity. 

These  difficulties  which  I  thus  outline  are 
general  and  constant.  The  teachers  now  on 
the  ground  are  dealing  with  them  as  best 
they  may.  Both  foreign  teachers  and  native 
are  laboring  together  to  lessen  what  obstacles 
they  cannot  remove,  and  to  remove  all  that 
can  be  removed.    The  problem  is  hard.  The 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA        157 

quantitative  relation  is  significant.  To  educate 
four  hundred  millions  is  a  problem  unlike  ed- 
ucating fifty  millions,  as  in  Japan.  In  their 
endeavors  the  present  teachers  of  China  de- 
serve sympathy.  To  condemn  the  inadequacy 
of  Chinese  education — and  it  is  inadequate — 
means  ignorance  of  the  conditions.  Sympathy 
should  be  given  by  the  teachers  of  the  world 
to  their  professional  brethren  in  China,  and 
reinforcements,  too. 


IX 

THE  CHINESE  MENACE 

The  Chinese  menace,  —  what  is  it?  It  is  the 
peril,  says  one,  that  the  Chinese  army  and 
navy  will  conquer  the  armies  and  navies  of 
the  world :  it  is  the  menace  martial.  It  is  the 
peril,  declares  another,  that  the  Chinese  race, 
covering  a  quarter  or  a  fifth  of  the  entire 
population  of  the  world,  will  submerge  all 
other  races  and  peoples :  it  is  the  menace  eth- 
nological. It  is  the  peril,  affirms  a  third,  that 
the  arts  and  crafts  of  Chinese  workmen,  done 
at  the  barest  living  wage,  will  supplant  the 
products  of  the  workmen  of  all  other  lands : 
it  is  the  menace  industrial.  It  is  the  peril, 
asserts  a  fourth,  that  the  social  and  religious 
institutions  of  the  Chinese  people  will  eventu- 
ally overcome  the  institutions  of  the  so-called 
civilized  nations :  it  is  the  menace  sociological. 
All  these  perils,  brought  together  and  com- 
pounded into  one  great  menace,  become,  be  it 


THE  CHINESE  MENACE  169 

at  once  said,  less  menacing  when  seen  and 
studied  in  China  itself.  The  danger  diminishes 
in  proportion  as  one  comes  nearer  to  the  dan- 
ger itself ;  it  increases  with  the  square  of  the 
distance  from  it. 

For,  above  all  other  peoples,  the  Chinese 
want  to  be  left  alone,  and  they  also  want  to 
leave  other  peoples  alone.  They  believe  in 
China  for  the  Chinese.  Even  at  the  present 
time,  with  liberal  policies  more  or  less  regnant, 
and  with  education  an  increasing  force,  the 
majority  of  this  vast  population  would  prefer 
to  live  unto  themselves  as  well  as  to  die  unto 
themselves.  They  have  always  been  sufficient 
unto  themselves,  they  feel.  Their  standard  of 
comfort  may  not  be  that  of  the  Occident,  but 
it  is  their  own;  and  it  is  for  them  comfort- 
able. Why  should  these  unaccountable  and 
uncomfortable  foreign  devils  come  in  to  trou- 
ble them,  and  why  should  they  trouble  about 
these  foreign  devils  ?  Such  is  their  mood. 

The  Chinese,  further,  are  not  fighters.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  they  are  great  cowards.  One 
ought  to  see  charades  given  at  a  Japanese 


160  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

theatre  portraying  the  cowardice  of  the  Chinese 
soldiers.  Their  tactics  are  good;  but  what  o£ 
tactics  when  soldiers  run  at  the  first  discharge 
of  the  enemy's  rifles  ?  Their  navy  is  no  better 
than  the  army.  Their  men-of-war  are  hardly 
fitted  to  render  service  more  efficient  than  police 
duty.  No.  The  Chinese  are  an  agricultural 
people,  who  want  to  be  left  on  their  ancestral 
acres,  unmolested  in  their  natural  timidity. 
They  prefer  to  keep  their  iron  for  pruning 
hooks  and  ploughshares  rather  than  turn  it 
into  spears  and  swords. 

The  Chinese  menace,  also,  becomes  less 
menacing  when  one  knows  of  the  prevalence 
of  graft  in  the  equipping  of  the  Chinese  army. 
No  general  can  be  assured  that  the  ammuni- 
tion which  he  has  ordered  has  been  supplied 
in  the  amount  and  of  the  quahty  specified. 
No  army  can  be  assured  that  its  officers  are 
honest,  able,  efficient.  Each  man  has  his  price, 
and  somebody  pays  it.  The  Chinese  army  is 
as  completely  under  the  dominion  of  "  squeeze  " 
as  was  the  Russian.  The  Chinese  are  far  more 
avaricious  than  patriotic. 


THE  CHINESE  MENACE  161 

The  patriotism  of  the  people  is  also  lacking. 
Socially  the  Chinese  loves  his  country,  politi- 
cally he  is  largely  indifferent  to  her  welfare. 
The  contrast  between  China  and  Japan  is  com- 
plete and  absolute.  The  Japanese  prays  to  die 
for  his  country,  for  his  Emperor.  The  Chinese 
flees  before  his  foes.  The  government  is  not 
such  as  to  awaken  and  to  nourish  the  great 
virtues.  It  is  an  alien  throne.  The  government 
is  divided  up  into  many  satrapies.  The  gov- 
erning powers  show  little  sympathy  with  the 
people. 

Neither  are  the  people  united  by  other 
great  sentiments  and  passions.  Resistance  to 
taxation  ?  Most  hard  and  long  wars  have  been 
fought  over  questions  of  taxation.  Civil  wars 
and  revolutions  have  thus  arisen.  But  China 
seems  willing  to  tax  herself,  and  no  foreign 
power  is  venturing  at  present  to  lay  taxes 
upon  her.  Passion  for  some  great  leader? 
The  leadership  is  lacking,  and  if  it  were  not 
lacking,  the  passion  probably  would  be.  The 
great  men  of  China  are  great  men,  but  they 
do  not  call  out  the  devotion  which  the  great 


162  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

men  of  Japan  evoke  from  their  countrymen. 
The  geographical  expanse  and  the  population 
are  many-fold  greater.  In  China  it  is  difficult 
to  bring  a  passion  to  a  burning  point.  Reli- 
gion ?  May  not  religion  quicken  the  sentiment 
of  this  people  and  cause  them  to  turn  against 
a  Christian  world?  The  Boxer  movement  of 
nine  years  ago  seems,  on  its  face,  to  be  such 
a  revolution.  Was  it  not  a  sort  of  sudden 
flaming  forth  as  of  the  missionary  zeal  of 
Islamism?  But  this  movement  was  confined 
to  North  China.  It  was  a  movement,  too,  quite 
as  much  political  as  religious.  Moreover,  it 
lacked  intellectual  direction  and  leadership.  It 
was  of  the  type  of  the  mob.  In  a  word,  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  any  cause  which  would 
awaken  the  enthusiasm  or  lasting  devotion  of 
Chinese  and  Manchu,  of  metropolis  and  pro- 
vince, of  the  north,  of  the  south,  and  of  the 
west  of  China,  of  Confucianist  and  exotic 
Buddhist. 

Furthermore,  behind  the  menace  with  which 
any  nation  can  threaten  the  world  is  a  force 
known  as  a  national  will.    Two  peoples  have, 


THE  CHINESE  MENACE  163 

in  the  last  two  thousand  years,  manifested  in 
a  high  degree  such  a  will,  the  Eoman  and 
the  English.  The  Roman  went  on,  conquer- 
ing and  to  conquer.  Defeated  he  was  for  the 
day ;  but,  not  knowing  that  he  was  defeated, 
he  was  on  the  following  day  renewing  the 
fight  with  vigor  unspent  and  valor  untarnished. 
In  the  end  the  Roman  won,  through  the  con- 
stant impact  of  a  mightier  will  upon  the  forces 
of  his  foes.  By  much  the  same  process  England 
has  become  a  master  of  the  peoples  whom  she 
holds  in  a  subjection  more  or  less  willing.  No 
such  will,  either  individual  or  national,  do  the 
Chinese  possess.  They  lack  force.  A  certain 
passive  staying  power  the  race  has;  but  it 
lacks  energy,  momentum.  The  nation  illus- 
trates one  of  the  simplest  laws  of  physics: 
momentum  equals  the  product  of  mass  and 
velocity.  If  either  mass  or  velocity  be  zero, 
the  product  is  also  zero.  China  has  mass ;  it  is 
enormous ;  how  enormous  no  one  knows.  But 
her  velocity,  applied  to  this  mass,  is  nil,  and 
the  consequent  result  is  also  nil. 

Great  nations,  seeming  to  be  on  the  point 


164  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

of  conquering  the  world,  have  suddenly  ceased 
their  conquests.  The  Persians,  the  Arabians, 
the  Turks  have  arisen,  and  have  for  a  time 
borne  down  all  opposition.  Without  sufficient 
apparent  cause  they  retired  from  their  battle, 
on  sea  and  land,  into  their  own  plains  or  fast- 
nesses. Apparently  they  became  exhausted, 
—  they  lacked  a  great  and  lasting  will.  Such 
lack  I  believe  the  Chinese  would  exhibit  in  spe- 
cial significance  long  before  they  had  crossed 
the  Himalayas  or  the  Ural  Mountains. 

What  I  have  so  far  written  has  reference, 
I  find,  to  the  menace  arising  from  war.  This 
menace  may,  therefore,  be  cast  aside.  I  fear  I 
have  considered  it  too  seriously. 

The  other  perils  are  obviously  more  danger- 
ous, —  ethnological,  industrial,  sociological ; 
but  I  cannot  believe  they  do  constitute  men- 
aces. The  Chinese  have  spread  over  the  Straits 
Settlements.  They  have  come  into  Canada; 
they  have  come  somewhat  into  the  Pacific 
Coast  cities  of  the  United  States.  But  they 
have  not  gone  into  other  lands  in  appreciable 
numbers.   The  world  is  not  China.  They  do 


THE  CHINESE  MENACE  165 

not  show  any  such  tendency  to  emigrate  as 
the  world  charges  them  with  possessing.  Many 
nations  in  fact  would  be  greatly  benefited  by 
the  gift  of  a  hundred  thousand  or  a  million 
of  this  hard-working,  economical  race.  There 
is  no  danger  of  submersion. 

The  industrial  menace  is  also  quite  as  re- 
mote. The  American  should,  of  all  peoples, 
have  the  least  fear  of  this  peril.  The  Ameri- 
can brain,  making  the  steel  to  think,  can  out- 
distance the  manual  working  Chinese  in  the 
world's  markets.  China  will  never  become  a 
rival  in  the  making  of  steel  or  iron.  The 
Chinese  farmer  prefers  cultivating  his  few  an- 
cestral acres  to  building  and  managing  large 
cotton  or  woolen  factories  or  blast-furnaces. 
His  institutions,  too,  social  and  religious,  are 
his  institutions,  as  are  his  industrial  and  com- 
mercial methods:  he  has  no  wish  to  impose 
them  on  the  world.  As  I  said  in  the  beginning, 
he  wants  to  be  left  alone,  and  he  wants  to  let 
the  world  alone.  Which  desire  is  the  stronger 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  But  even  if  the  world 
will  not  let  him  alone, — see  the  American, 


166  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

English,  German,  and  other  soldiers  in  Peking, 
—  he  is,  on  the  whole,  willing  to  let  the  world 
alone.  He,  to  quote  a  line  from  Matthew 
Arnold,  "  lets  the  legions  thunder  past." 


INDIA 


INDIA'S    NEED    OF    TECHNICAL    AND 
INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION 

The  need  of  technical  and  industrial  education 
for  India  is  urgent.  The  urgency  arises  from 
several  conditions.  Practical  education  in  both 
its  higher  and  lower  ranges  is  required  for  the 
development  of  the  country.  More  roads  and 
better  ones,  more  railroads  and  better  ones, 
and  more  general  and  effective  irrigation  re- 
present three  of  the  primary  needs  of  this 
great  empire.  At  the  present  moment  the  field 
of  the  needs  which  irrigation  supplies,  notwith- 
standing great  works  already  in  operation,  is 
more  impressive,  and  this  field  is  representa- 
tive of  other  great  wants.  Some  large  areas 
of  India  suffer  seriously  for  lack  of  rain. 
These  paragraphs  I  write  as  I  travel  through 
one  of  these  districts.  As  a  result  of  the  fail- 
ure of  rains,  a  failure  of  crops  is  occurring. 
The  people  are  hungry,  and  soon  apparently 


170  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

many  of  them  will  be  starving.  This  cause  and 
consequence  are  working  more  or  less  regu- 
larly. The  problem  is  therefore  presented, 
and  presented  with  an  urgency  which  words 
can  only  intimate,  to  the  engineer  of  devising 
a  system  of  irrigation  which  shall  save  every 
decade  millions  of  lives,  and  also  save  the 
civilized  peoples  of  the  world  from  harrowing 
tales  of  human  suffering. 

In  brief,  the  breadth  of  the  opportunity 
for  the  work  of  the  civil  engineer,  and  of  me- 
chanical, electrical,  mining,  and  chemical  engi- 
neers, can  hardly  be  overestimated.  For  its 
whole  material  evolution,  India  calls  for  the 
service  of  such  men. 

Furthermore,  India  needs  technical  educa- 
tion for  her  educational  values.  Indian  edu- 
cation lacks  directness  in  method,  solidity, 
energy,  definiteness  in  result.  In  certain  re- 
spects she  has  been  too  liberalizing:  she  has 
been  inclined  to  set  the  mind  so  far  free  that 
it  has  failed  to  respect  its  natural  limitations. 
Technical  education  is  in  peril  of  intellectual 
and  professional  narrowness,  but  this  very  nar- 


INDIA'S  NEED  OF  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION    171 

rowness  promotes  directness,  and  may  create 
force.  It  also  offers  a  definite  aim  and  a  clearly 
outlined  body  of  knowledge.  Such  an  educa- 
tion the  men  of  India  greatly  need. 

But  it  must  be  said  that  apparently  neither 
the  Indian  mind  by  nature  is  fitted  to  receive 
such  an  education,  nor  does  the  Indian  heart 
want  it.  The  Indian  mind  prefers  metaphysics 
to  physics,  logic  and  grammar  to  chemistry. 
It  is  rather  literary  than  scientific.  Teachers 
in  schools  and  colleges  —  and  many,  too,  with 
whom  I  have  talked — seek  to  divert  their 
students  into  courses  leading  to  engineering 
and  away  from  courses  leading  to  the  law, 
but  the  diversion  seems  somewhat  unnatural 
and  one  hard  to  make. 

Moreover,  in  any  discussion  regarding  In- 
dian education,  it  is  never  to  be  overlooked 
that  the  Indian  student  is  poor  in  purse.  The 
people,  indeed,  are  poor;  and  in  India,  as 
elsewhere,  students  as  a  body  seldom  come 
from  a  wealthy  class.  Many  of  them  spend 
no  more  than  fifty  cents  a  day,  and  not  a  few 
less  than  fifty.  Scientific  education  is  the  most 


172  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

costly  of  all  types  of  education ;  a  legal  edu- 
cation is  the  least  expensive.  On  the  simple 
ground  of  their  costliness,  some  students  turn 
aside  from  the  technical  courses.  All  India 
spends  about  two  cents  a  day  for  each  native. 

But,  despite  these  difficulties,  and  under  the 
influence  of  these  motives,  India  is  making 
progress  in  technical  and  industrial  education. 

India  has  four  colleges  of  engineering. 
Geographically  they  are  well  placed  for  serving 
the  entire  community.  One  is  at  Sibpur,  near 
Calcutta;  one  at  Poona,  near  Bombay;  one 
at  Madras,  and  one  at  Koorke,  in  the  United 
Provinces.  The  one  at  Roorke,  Thomason 
College,  founded  as  early  as  1848,  was,  in  its 
first  years,  simply  a  training  school  for  in- 
ferior officers  for  the  Ganges  Canal.  With 
the  growth  of  scientific  knowledge,  it  has  en- 
larged its  curriculum  as  well  as  its  constituency, 
has  between  three  hundred  and  four  hun- 
dred students,  and  the  course  occupies  three 
years.  Each  of  these  colleges  is  equipped  with 
the  usual  chemical,  physical,  and  mechanical 
laboratories,   and    also   with   carpentry   and 


INDIA'S  NEED  OF  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION    173 

machine  shops.  The  work  in  all  these  colleges 
represents  three  orders  or  grades.  The  high- 
est order  comprises  what  would  be  known  in 
the  United  States  as  technical  or  engineering 
courses.  Students  in  these  courses  are  trained 
for  the  higher  range  of  engineering  work. 
Most  of  these  men  enter  the  great  public 
works  department  of  the  government.  They 
become  in  India,  as  in  America,  leaders  in  in- 
dustrial enterprises.  A  second  order  of  train- 
ing is  given  in  what  may  be  called  an  ap- 
prentice department,  the  purpose  of  which 
is  to  train  overseers  and  mechanical  foremen. 
The  work  represents  the  higher  grade  of  a 
trade  -  school.  The  course  includes  a  large 
amount  of  mathematics,  of  physics,  and  of 
chemistry.  About  half  the  time  is  given  to 
practical  work,  and  about  half  to  scholastic. 
In  the  third  and  lowest  grade,  mechanics  and 
artisans  are  trained.  Among  the  trades  that 
are  thus  taught  are  printing,  work  in  wood, 
metal,  stone,  and  photography  in  various 
branches. 

In  addition  to  these  four  engineering  col- 


174  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

leges,  there  are  also  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  industrial  schools.  These  schools  are  of 
manifold  origin.  Some,  and  the  more  impor- 
tant ones,  have  been  established  by  the  gov- 
ernment; some  by  the  individual  towns  or 
cities ;  some  by  the  missionary  organizations ; 
and  some  by  private  initiative.  It  should  be 
said  that  these,  like  other  schools  established 
by  commissions  and  by  individuals,  are  aided 
by  grants  made  by  the  government.  The  sub- 
jects taught  in  all  these  schools  are  usually 
the  four  of  carpentry,  machine  work,  shoe- 
making,  and  tailoring.  Those  less  generally 
offered  are  metal  work,  masonry,  weaving,  and 
carpet-making.  The  curriculum  is  determined 
somewhat  by  the  local  demand  for  men 
equipped  in  special  trades ;  but  it  would  seem 
that  this  local  demand  has,  on  the  whole,  not 
been  sufficiently  heeded. 

It  is  to  be  said  that,  notwithstanding  the 
general  feeling  that  India  ought  to  become  a 
great  manufacturing  nation,  it  has  been  found 
difficult  to  persuade  boys  to  attend  these  in- 
dustrial schools.  The  reason  probably  lies  both 


w^% 


INDIA'S  NEED  OF  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION    175 

in  what  is  the  confessed  inefficiency  of  these 

schools  themselves,  and  also  in  the, 

of  parents  to  give  up  certain  finaj 

tages  which  they  receive  througi 

becoming  apprentices  under  the  ol( 

tern  of  learning  a  trade.  ^^^^" 

In  any  review  of  the  practical  education 
of  India,  notice  should  be  taken  of  two  other 
forms  of  education,  the  commercial  and  agri- 
cultural. The  demand  for  men  specially  trained 
for  a  commercial  career  is  new,  but  it  has 
recently  become  urgent.  In  Bombay,  Allaha- 
bad, and  Lucknow,  there  are  schools  in  which 
men  are  specially  trained  for  business  careers. 
The  training  is  designed,  on  the  whole,  to  pre- 
pare men  for  clerical  service.  Bookkeeping,  ste- 
nography, typewriting,  and  similar  subjects 
are  taught. 

Agriculture  is  the  occupation  of  about  three 
quarters  of  the  population  of  India ;  but  the 
training  in  agriculture  is  as  backward  as  it  is 
essentially  important  to  the  welfare  of  these 
three  hundred  millions  of  people.  Colleges 
of  agriculture  have  been  established  at  four 


176  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

places,  and  instruction  in  agriculture  is  also 
|veral  of  the  industrial  schools ;  but 
)s  are  apparently  no  more  prosper- 
:e  the  agricultural  colleges  of  the 
:es  in  the  first  years  of  their  exist- 
ley  have  not  yet  received  the  favor  of 
the  land-holding  class,  and  they  have  so  far 
been  chiefly  used,  as  formerly  were  those  of 
the  United  States,  in  securing  a  general  train- 


ing. 


All  classes  of  the  Indian  community  realize 
India's  need  of  these  four  kinds  of  practical 
training.  Government  is  willing  to  put  imr 
mense  sums  into  schools  and  colleges  for  pro^ 
viding  such  training.  The  missionary  boards, 
now  giving  a  large  interpretation  to  their  great 
work,  are  eager  to  promote  education  of  this 
type.  Only  yesterday  an  American  missionary 
at  Allahabad  said  to  me  that  he  would  next 
year  go  home  to  take  a  course  in  agriculture, 
in  order  to  prepare  himself  better  for  his  spe- 
cial duties.  The  government  has  lately  sent 
to  the  United  States  and  to  England  about 
one  hundred  picked  students  to  study  engi- 


INDIA'S  NEED  OF  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION    177 

neering.  As  a  result  of  these  and  like^efforts 

engineers  are  to  come  to  India  in 

bers  ;  and  when  they  have  com( 

country  which  as  regards  engim 

is  essentially  new,  they  will  help 

New  India  indeed.    In  the  creation 

a  nation  lies  her  salvation. 


XI 

GHEE  EDUCATION  FOR  WOMEN 
IN  INDIA 

The  higher  education  for  women  in  India  is, 
like  the  lower  education,  beset  by  several  and 
unique  difficulties. 

Perhaps  the  most  evident  of  these  difficul- 
ties is  the  seclusion  in  which  girls  and  women 
live.  This  seclusion  applies  to  both  Hindus 
and  Mohammedans  alike.  As  a  daughter  and 
as  a  wife,  the  home  is  at  once  woman's  throne 
and  prison.  She  is  shielded,  guarded,  and 
guided.  If  she  go  abroad,  she  is  carefully  at- 
tended. Conversation  with  men  outside  the 
family  is,  according  to  some  customs,  impos- 
sible, or  at  least  held  under  the  closest  super- 
vision. The  whole  tendency  and  all  conditions 
of  life  in  India  result  in  keeping  women  within 
the  stone  walls  of  a  little  home  and  yard.  An 
American  teacher  in  Calcutta  tells  me  that, 
after  many  and   tactful   overtures,  she   has 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  FOR  WOMEN       179 

recently  obtained  permission  to  visit  a  girl  of 
twelve,  who,  since  her  marriage  at  the  age  of 
seven,  has  not  left  her  house.  Nor  i^|i|case 
unique.  Even  the  profession  o%^^^^b  ^^ 
India  is  practically  impossible  for  ymK^  be- 
cause a  woman  going  into  a  home  is  regarded 
as  the  subject  of  chaperonage. 

Early  marriage,  too,  works  toward  the  same 
result.  Girls,  who  in  the  United  States  or  Eng- 
land or  Germany  would  be  in  the  primary 
school,  are  either  betrothed  or  married.  I  have 
seen  many  midgets  wearing  the  necklace  of 
black  beads  indicative  of  marriage.  Marriage 
in  India,  as  in  America,  prevents,  or  shortens  the 
period  of,  education,  of  any  grade  or  order. 

The  principle  of  caste  has  a  similar  effect. 
This  principle  shuts  both  man  and  woman 
within  the  circle  of  certain  inherited  traditions 
and  usages.  It  shuts  out  too  as  well  as  shuts  in. 
If  to  those  within  it  represents  kindness  and 
sympathy,  toward  those  without  it  stands  for 
cruelty.  A  man  fallen  from  a  palm  tree  is  left 
to  suffer  for  hours,  in  the  fear  that  he  is  not  of 
the  caste  of  the  passer-by.  Even  lepers  recog- 


180  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

nize  and  practice  the  custom.  At  a  Christmas 
feast  which  the  children  of  a  Christian  school 
at  P^||ft  gave  for  the  lepers  of  the  city,  the 
lep^^^K.  higher  caste  obliged  their  fellow 
sufferCTW)f  a  lower  caste  to  eat  outside  the 
courtyard  of  the  house  while  they  were  en- 
tertained within.  To  the  requirements  of  the 
principle  women  seem  more  obedient  than  men. 
In  the  medical  and  other  colleges  men  of  differ- 
ent castes  mingle  together  with  a  considerable 
degree  of  freedom. 

Many  parents,  moreover,  are  either  indiffer- 
ent or  opposed  to  the  education  of  their  daugh- 
ters. They  are  willing,  in  many  cases,  for  them 
to  be  educated  well  enough  to  become  wives. 
"How  well  is  that?"  I  asked  a  Japanese 
princess  who  made  a  similar  remark  about  her 
people.  "  That,"  was  her  wise  and  witty  reply, 
"depends  on  the  husband."  In  India  most 
husbands  prefer  a  wife  whose  education  is 
meagre.  The  reason  is  perhaps  twofold.  Most 
Indian  men  are  ignorant,  and  do  not  want  a 
wife  who  knows  more  than  they.  The  idea  is 
also  common  that  education  leads  to  inde- 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  FOR  WOMEN       181 


pendency;  the  educated  wife  is  not  so  servile. 
Parents,  therefore,  fear  that  if  they  educate 
their  daughters  they  will  not  be  abk||^^ve 
them  in  marriage.  p  ^^H^ 

These  four  reasons — seclusion,  early  mar- 
riage, caste,  and  the  indifference  or  opposition 
of  parents  —  are  comprehended  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  place  and  function  of  women 
as  being  narrowly  domestic.  In  filling  this 
place  and  performing  the  functions  of  the 
home,  it  is  argued  that  the  higher  education 
is  unnecessary,  or  indeed  distinctly  obstruc- 
tive. The  objection  is  akin  to  that  which  was 
heard  in  the  United  States  sixty  or  more  years 
ago,  although  stated  in  a  form  less  savage 
and  materialistic.  Indeed,  the  objection  is  one, 
apparently,  almost  as  ancient  as  the  race. 

To  these  difficulties  in  the  way  of  their 
education  it  must  also  be  confessed  that  the 
character  of  Hindu  women  adds  no  little  force. 
The  typical  Hindu  woman,  from  the  Afghan- 
istan border  to  southern  India,  is  slight  in  body, 
small  in  face,  bearing  in  every  line  and  move- 
ment the  impression  of  a  lack  of  strength  in 


182  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

muscle,  mind,  and  will.  She  is  herself,  prob- 
ably,  the  child  of  a  mere  child,  and  she  a  child 
wiUroSBIfalv  become  the  mother  of  other  chil- 
Ae^^^klight,  small,  and  weak.  A  woman  of 
tS|^j^is  not  fitted  to  overcome  difficulties 
so  tremendous  as  those  she  must  meet  in  get- 
ting an  education.  Easily  she  submits  to  the 
apparently  inevitable. 

If,  however,  the  woman  of  India  desires  a 
liberal  education,  the  opportunity  is  open.  Col- 
leges, established  by  the  government  or  by  mis- 
sionaries, receive  her.  Most  of  these  colleges 
were  formed  primarily  for  the  education  of 
men ;  but  into  many  of  them  women  are  read- 
ily admitted.  The  method  represents  a  limited 
co-education.  The  number  of  women  found  in 
any  one  college  is  small,  and  the  proportion  to 
young  men  would  be  perhaps  as  one  woman  to 
twenty  men.  In  most  colleges  the  instruction 
is  largely  or  entirely  given  through  lectures, 
and  both  women  and  men  are  only  auditors 
and  note-takers.  Some  of  the  objections  which 
have  been  found  to  co-education  are  thus 
avoided,  through  the  absence  of  recitations. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  FOR  WOMEN       183 

In  India  all  scholastic  degrees  are  given  by 
five  universities,  —  Calcutta,  Allahabad,  La- 
hore, Bombay,  and  Madras, — and  Aijj|bem 
alone  formal  examinations  for  degrMBK  set. 
Women,  like  men,  present  themselves  in  the 
examination  rooms  of  these  universities,  and 
they  are  as  free  so  to  present  themselves  as  are 
their  brothers.  If  they  pass,  they  also  are  re- 
commended to  receive  the  proper  degree.  The 
first  degree  is  that  of  B.  A.,  and  the  second, 
like  the  American  and  English  custom,  that 
of  M.  A.  Degrees  in  science,  in  medicine,  and 
in  law  are  also  given. 

The  number  of  women,  out  of  a  popula- 
tion more  than  threefold  that  of  the  United 
States,  who  have  felt  themselves  called  to  en- 
dure the  privations  which  stand  in  the  way 
of  getting  a  formal  degree  is  still  very  small. 
After  a  half  century  of  European  higher  edu- 
cation in  India,  that  number  is  considerably 
less  than  a  thousand.  In  fact,  the  proportion 
of  liberally  or  professionally  educated  women 
in  the  vast  empire  is  infinitesimal. 

The  future  which  awaits  the  woman  who  has 


184  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

endured  up  to  the  Convocation  at  which  she 
receives  her  degree  is  not  unlike  the  future 
of  th^^ell-educated  women  of  every  country. 
Somll^Bd  the  larger  share  of  these  capped 
and  'gowned  ones,  return  to  their  homes  and 
to  their  society  and  community,  and  seek  to 
adjust  themselves  to  the  relations  which  home, 
society,  and  community  represent.  In  India, 
as  in  America  and  England,  they  perform 
more  efficiently  the  duties,  and  accept  more 
graciously  the  rights  belonging  to  these  re- 
lations, by  reason  of  their  liberal  education. 
The  field  of  service  and  of  enjoyment  is,  how- 
ever, far  less  broad  and  diverse  in  India  than 
among  the  Western  peoples.  The  adjustment 
is  more  difficult,  and  the  results  are  in  grave 
peril  of  being  less  satisfactory.  The  contrast 
between  the  life  which  the  woman  student 
and  the  woman  graduate  has  lived  and  the 
life  and  living  which  are  hers  in  her  home 
may  be  marked  and  lamentable.  She  is  in 
peril  of  falling  back  to  the  level  of  the  en- 
vironment which  was  hers  before  she  set  out 
upon  her  educational  career. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  FOR  WOMEN       186 

A  few  women,  however,  crown  their  educa- 
tional career  with  the  professional  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Laws,  or  Bachelor  of  T^dbing, 
or  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Few  theyjH^  but 
among  these  few  are  found  women  wno  are 
doing  great  service  for  India.  The  field  of  the 
law  is  the  least  promising  of  the  three,  but 
even  here  women  are  giving  a  good  account 
of  themselves.  More,  or  most,  are  found  in 
the  schoolroom  and  in  the  doctor's  of&ce.  The 
seclusion  of  many  women  from  men,  and  from 
physicians  who  are  men,  opens  wide  and  high 
the  door  of  opportunity  to  the  woman  doctor. 
The  service  which  is  thus  given  is  unspeakably 
precious.  Next  to  the  home,  the  schoolroom 
represents  the  favorite  place  of  work  for  edu- 
cated women.  Into  schools,  therefore, — gov- 
ernmental, private,  missionary,  —  go  these  lib- 
erally trained  graduates.  In  India,  as  in  the 
West,  they  offer  as  effective  teaching  as  women 
have  ever  given. 

The  cause  of  the  higher  education  of  women 
in  India  moves  slowly,  but  it  does  move.  The 
progress  of  a  year  may  be  invisible;  the  ad- 


186  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

vance  of  a  decade  is  clear.  Even  in  a  decade, 
however,  there  may  be  regress  as  well  as  pro- 
gre§fe-  But  the  movement  of  the  tide  is  toward 
frel^R  and  enlarged  opportunity,  both  in  se- 
curi^^ief  higher  education  and  in  using  its 
personal  and  scholastic  results.  India  is  old, 
conservative,  slow  of  change;  but  the  future 
of  women's  higher  education  in  India  is  as  as- 
sured to  the  wise  and  far-seeing  interpreter  as 
the  future  of  the  higher  education  of  Ameri- 
can women  was  to  Matthew  Vassar  forty  years 
ago. 


XII 

"WHAT  SHALL  I  DO?"  THE  QIIKTION 
OF  THE  COLLEGE  MAN  IN  INDIA 

To  the  liberally  educated  man  of  twenty-one 
years  in  India,  as  to  the  liberally  educated 
man  of  the  same  age  in  America,  the  question 
"  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  is  of  utmost  seriousness. 
To  the  man  of  the  East  the  question  is  at  once 
harder  and  easier  than  to  the  man  of  the 
West.  The  Eastern  man  may  find  the  prob- 
lem at  least  partially  solved  for  him  through 
the  law  of  caste,  and  also  by  the  custom  of 
inherited  vocation.  He  can  hardly  consider 
adopting  a  calling  which  should  overcome  the 
law  of  class  distinction,  upon  which  Indian 
society  so  largely  rests.  Unless,  too,  there  be 
reason  to  the  contrary,  he  follows  the  calling 
of  his  father.  The  present  chief  astronomer  in 
Jaipur  Province  is  the  son  and  grandson  of 
an  astronomer,  and  so  down,  he  believes,  for 
generations. 


188  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Few  college  men  of  India  enter  either  the 
native  or  the  Christian  priesthood.  The  can- 
didates for  the  Buddhistic  priesthood  are  set 
apart  ftr  their  offices  at  an  early  age,  and  we 
can  therefore  exclude  them  from  our  survey. 
The  priests  of  the  Hindu  faith  are  few  in 
number,  and  of  the  Mohammedan  still  fewer. 
It  must  also  be  said  that  the  proportion  of  the 
Christian  college  men  of  India  who  enter  into 
the  Christian  ministry  is  very  small.  One 
Christian  college  (of  English  foundation), 
founded  fifty  years  ago,  has  sent  only  one 
graduate  into  the  office  of  the  minister.  The 
results  in  most  colleges  are  not  so  meagre. 
But,  in  general,  the  number  of  Christian 
students  who  become  clergymen  or  evangelists 
is  much  smaller  than  a  priori  reasoning  would 
lead  one  to  believe.  The  causes  are  manifold, 
but  the  reason  that  is  probably  uppermost  in 
the  mind  of  the  Indians  themselves  is  the  lack 
of  responsibility  given  to  the  native  ministry 
by  the  foreign  missionaries. 

In  India,  as  in  too  many  countries,  the 
graduate  regards  an  office  under  the  govern- 


WHAT  SHALL  I  DO  ?  189 

ment  as  the  most  desirable  opportunity  for  a 
career.  It  represents  an  assured  (though  sel- 
dom large)  income,  permanence,  and  respect- 
ability. The  difficulty  of  securing  a  proper 
place  under  the  government,  however,  in- 
creases. Men  of  better  training  and  of  larger 
ability  are  constantly  demanded.  For  most, 
too,  these  positions  must  always  be  clerical. 

The  law  as  a  possible  profession,  the  Indian, 
as  the  American,  graduate  may  consider.  The 
field  is  great  in  India,  as  it  is  in  America. 
Both  peoples  are  fond  of  the  luxury  of  litiga- 
tion. But  the  Indian  finds,  as  does  his  Amer- 
ican brother,  the  profession  much  crowded. 
The  remark  is  made  almost  as  often  in  India 
as  in  the  United  States  that  there  are  too  many 
lawyers.  But  no  country  has  too  many  able 
lawyers.  The  field  of  opportunity,  both  pro- 
fessional and  general,  for  the  well-equipped 
Indian  lawyer  is  rich. 

Teaching  may  attract  the  new  graduate. 
Despite  the  astonishing  backwardness  of  the 
people  in  education,  schools  and  colleges  are 
increasing  in  number  and  in   efficiency.   If 


if  OF  THE     ^ 


UNIVERSITY    i 


OF 


190  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

altruistic  impulses  move  the  graduate,  he  can 
find  no  field  more  promising.  Teaching  in 
India,  as  everywhere,  has  philanthropy  as  its 
motive  .,  power.  If  pecuniary  impulses  move 
him,  he  may  yet  select  this  calling.  The  salary 
of  a  higher  teacher  usually  runs  from  $400  to 
$800  a  year.  Incomes  in  India  are  small.  The 
income  of  a  family  of  eight  persons,  of  the 
upper-middle  class,  would  frequently  not  ex- 
ceed $200.  The  annual  salary,  therefore,  of 
a  teacher  of  $400  might  become  the  object 
of  avaricious  ambition.  Social  motives,  too, 
might  or  might  not  impel  him.  The  social 
position  of  the  teacher  in  India  is  quite  akin 
to  what  it  is  in  the  United  States, — made 
somewhat  by  the  position,  but  more  by 
the  personality.  A  larger  number  of  men 
should,  and  will  in  the  future,  find  their  career 
in  teaching.  Both  as  cause  and  result  of  the 
deeper  interest  in  education,  it  is  one  of  the 
noblest  opportunities  for  human  service  given 
to  the  educated  men  of  the  East. 

In  India,  as  in  most  countries,  the  science 
and  art  of  medicine  has  made  greater  ad- 


WHAT  SHALL  I  DO?  191 

vancement  than  any  other  profession.  The 
medical  schools  in  India  are  offering  essen- 
tially the  same  training  which  the  English 
and  Scotch  schools  offer.  This  training  is  not 
so  good  as  that  prescribed  by  the  best  Ameri- 
can schools;  but  it  is  good.  The  graduate, 
therefore,  comes  forth  well  equipped  for  ser- 
vice among  his  countrymen.  Among  them  the 
opportunity  for  service  is  indeed  ample.  This 
man,  trained  in  European  therapeutics  and 
principles  of  diagnosis,  finds  himself  brought 
into  professional  relationship  with  the  physi- 
cian trained  by  native  methods  and  using  a 
native  pharmacopoeia.  These  methods  and  rem- 
edies have  a  certain  advantage  of  long-time 
prescription.  The  people,  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious, may  not  easily  accept  the  new  learning 
or  the  new  practice.  But  the  conclusion  is  in- 
evitable. "The  old  order  changeth,"  and  must 
change.  The  new  graduate  in  medicine,  going 
into  municipality  or  village  community,  finds 
the  people  defying  most  of  the  laws  of  good 
health.  To  prevent  disease,  both  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  community,  as  well  as  to  cure 


192  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

it,  he  has  as  rich  a  field  as  the  most  enthusi- 
astic could  desire. 

The  medical  profession  is  the  most  individ- 
ualistic of  all  callings.  But  certain  Hindus,  of 
what  might  be  called  the  public  type  of  mind, 
are  attracted  toward  editorship.  Editorship  is 
a  vocation  always  open.  All  one  need  do  is 
to  start  a  newspaper.  This  not  a  few  Indians, 
in  these  times  of  unrest,  are  inclined  to  do.  The 
attempt  usually  is  short-lived.  Printers'  bills 
must  be  paid.  Too  many  of  these  sheets  have 
as  their  chief  theme  the  abuse  of  the  govern- 
ment. One  of  the  more  conspicuous  contained, 
for  instance,  in  a  recent  issue  this  tirade :  — 

Gridhra  [vultures],  jackals,  and  dogs  are 
tearing  away  at  the  heart  of  your  mother 
[country]  :  when  will  you  wake  if  not  now  ? 
The  Mother  is  still  kind  and  still  enormously 
rich.  These  riches  you  can  enjoy.  But  without 
courage  you  won't  be  able  to  save  the  riches 
from  the  hands  of  robbers.  Excel  in  the  art  of 
handling  weapons,  and  run  riot  in  the  sweets 
of  war  !  ...  To  become  the  hirelings  of  for- 
eign rulers  (which  is  the  ways  of  dogs)  is  very 
nasty,  and  must  be  put  an  end  to.  In  penury, 
rather  obtain  your  livelihood  by  shopkeeping. 


WHAT  SHALL  I  DO?  193 

.  .  .  The  big  palaces,  with  their  worthless  tin- 
selry,  have  been  erected  at  your  expense.  They 
are  your  handiwork.  By  the  force  of  your 
arm,  they  can  be  built  up  or  leveled  to  the 
earth ! 

The  legitimate  field  of  journalism  in  India 
is  small.  What  can  be  the  demand  for  news- 
papers in  a  community  in  which  only  ten  per 
cent  of  the  men  can  read  and  less  than  one  per 
cent  of  the  women  ? 

There  are  two  other  callings  which  the  re- 
cent graduate  may  fittingly  consider,  engineer- 
ing and  business.  Of  the  need  of  engineers 
in  India  I  have  written  at  length  in  another 
chapter,  and  I  shall  not  pause  here  even  to  in- 
timate the  richness  of  the  rewards,  personal 
and  altruistic,  as  well  as  financial,  awaiting  the 
engineer.  I  at  once  pass  on  to  consider  the 
field  of  business  as  a  proper  field  for  the  choice 
of  the  liberally  educated  man  of  India.  India 
needs  more  large-minded  merchants.  She  has 
millions  of  small-minded  merchants,  who  well 
embody  the  prejudice  which  Cicero,  in  one  of 
his  philosophical  essays,  expresses  against  the 
retail  dealer.    The  opportunity  for  the  mer- 


194  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

chant  of  large  intellectual  powers  is  one  of 
the  greatest.  The  difficulties,  however,  in  the 
way  of  the  well-educated  man  becoming  a 
merchant  are  at  least  fourfold,  —  caste,  lack 
of  capital,  ignorance  of  the  world,  and  want 
of  endurance.  These  difficulties  are  indeed 
serious.  No  one  outside  of  India  can  appreciate 
how  heavy  is  the  weight  which  caste  puts  upon 
society  and  the  individual.  Its  unreasonable- 
ness does  not  at  all  lessen  its  fateful  inevita- 
bleness  and  crushingness.  India,  furthermore, 
is  poor,  though  not  so  poor  as  is  often  believed. 
But  large  capital  is  not  indigenous.  Most  of 
the  banks,  for  instance,  are  of  English  origin. 
The  Indian,  too,  is  not  a  man  of  the  world. 
He  seldom  goes  beyond  Bombay,  Lahore,  Cal- 
cutta, or  Madras.  He  also  meets  few  foreign- 
ers. He  is  not  fitted  by  environment  or  train- 
ing to  take  his  place  with  the  great  merchants 
of  London.  Further,  he  has  not  the  enduring 
power,  the  virile  force,  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 
It  is,  also,  ever  to  be  remembered  that  he  lives 
in  a  climate  in  which  it  is  hard  to  work  more 
than  six  months  of  each  year.  These  are  some 


WHAT  SHALL  I  DO?  195 

of  the  difficulties  which  the  college  man  must 
suffer  in  becoming  a  merchant.  But  he  also, 
be  it  said,  has  certain  advantages  :  he  is  indus- 
trious, he  is  economical,  and  he  is  accustomed 
to  do  much  on  a  small  income  and  capital. 

At  the  present  time,  next  to  the  need  of 
engineers,  India  needs  great  merchants,  men 
great  in  their  conception  of  commerce,  great 
in  their  wisdom  of  the  adjustment  of  means  to 
ends,  and  also  great  in  their  command  of  credit 
and  of  capital.  Such  men  India  needs,  in  order 
to  lift  her  from  the  small  retail  habit  of  trade, 
and  also  from  the  small  retail  habit  of  mind. 
This  vocation  of  business,  therefore,  the  large- 
minded  and  liberally  educated  man  of  India 
may  fittingly  consider  as  a  career. 


XIII 

THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA* 

The  political  future  of  India  will  be  deter- 
mined by  her  present.  If  in  that  future  one 
thing  be  more  settled  and  evident  than  an- 
other, it  is  that  England  will  retain  India. 

Apparently  no  opponent  can  arise  from 
without  to  expel  England.  If  an  opponent 
were  to  arise,  he  would  come  from  either  the 
North  or  the  East.  But  Russia  has  for  a  long 
time,  it  would  now  seem,  sufficient  internal 
problems  to  consume  her  strength.  China, 
too,  is  concerned  with  her  own  development ; 
and  that  development  must  progress  with 
greater  swiftness  than  it  has  for  even  the  last 
revolutionary  decade  to  create  power  enough 
to  attack  the  Empire  of  India.  China  is,  in- 
deed, awakening;  but  the  sleep  has  been  so 
long  and  so  sound  that  many  years  will  be  re- 
quired for  her  to  get  her  eyes  clear  open ;  and 

^  Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  North  American  Review. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  197 

even  when  the  eyes  are  fully  open,  other  de- 
cades will  be  required  to  create  and  to  organ- 
ize martial  and  other  forces.  No  outside  power, 
therefore,  can  loosen  England's  hold  on  India. 
The  peril  of  an  expulsive  force  arising 
within  India  itself  is  not  so  slight  as  the 
danger  of  an  external  foe;  but  this  peril  is 
still  slight.  The  three  hundred  milHons  of 
India's  population  are  divided  between  four 
fifths  Hindu  and  one  fifth  Mohammedan. 
These  two  peoples  are  enemies.  In  the  recent 
discontent  it  was  whispered  that,  after  the  Hin- 
dus had  driven  out  the  English,  they  would 
turn  upon  the  Mohammedans.  What  one 
hates  the  other  Hkes,  and  what  one  likes  the 
other  hates.  In  this  recent  discontent  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Prophet  were  found  on  the 
side  of  the  government.  The  disproportion  in 
force  between  these  two  great  bodies  is  by  no 
means  as  great  as  the  disproportion  in  num- 
bers. It  has  been  said  that  the  sixty  millions 
of  Mohammedans  could  drive  the  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  of  Hindus  into  the 
Bay  of  Bengal.  In  this  racial  and  religious 


198  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

antagonism  lies  much  advantage  for  Eng- 
land. 

But  the  Hindus  themselves  are  divided  into 
many  bodies.  Languages  and  dialects  are  as 
different  as  they  are  among  the  different 
provinces  of  China.  Social  caste  cuts  gulfs 
"which  are  apparently  impassable.  Sects  are  as 
numerous  and  as  separate  as  are  found  among 
the  adherents  of  the  Protestant  faith.  The 
only  method  by  which  these  alien  units  could 
be  joined  together  into  a  compact  fighting 
force  would  be  the  arising  of  a  masterful 
leader,  whose  personality  could  be  felt  from 
Lahore  to  Tuticorin,  from  bay  to  ocean.  The 
prospect  of  the  appearance  of  such  a  Mahomet 
is  so  slight  that  it  can  be  neglected  in  any 
forecast  of  the  future. 

But  even  were  such  a  martial  prophet  to 
spring  up,  he  would  find  these  separated 
hosts  composed  of  men,  weak  and  slight  in 
body  (with  a  few  exceptions),  without  arms, 
ignorant  of  military  and  especially  of  artillery 
training,  and,  above  all  else,  weak  in  aggres- 
sive will.  The  conditions  which  contributed 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  199 

to  the  terrible  power  of  the  mutiny  of  fifty 
years  ago  he  would  find  lacking.  No  native 
soldier  is  to-day  enrolled  in  the  artillery.  A 
relatively  larger  force  of  English  and  smaller 
of  Indian  troops  would  meet  him.  He  would 
find  the  railroad  and  the  telegraph  coming  to 
the  aid  of  his  foe,  as  they  did  not  in  Delhi  and 
Agra  and  Lucknow  in  the  deadly  marches 
of  that  dreadful  summer  of  '57.  No.  The  out- 
look for  the  military  triumph  of  a  great  native 
leader  is  indeed  slight.  India  would  be  quite 
as  unable  as  either  Russia  or  China  to  expel 
England. 

The  conclusion  is,  therefore,  inevitable  that 
England  can  stay  in  India  just  as  long  as 
she  wants  to.  England,  moreover,  apparently 
wants  to  stay.  The  Englishman  measures 
many  values  by  their  place  in  the  budget: 
India  pays  her  own  bills.  Indian  taxes  are 
sufficient  to  meet  the  cost  of  the  English  gov- 
ernment of  India.  But,  more,  India  repre- 
sents the  empire.  The  retirement  of  England 
would,  to  many,  mean  imperial  disintegration. 
India,  also,  is  a  proper  field  for  work  for 


200  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  English- 
men, who  could  not  find  in  "  little  England  " 
so  fit  opportunity  for  a  career.  Akin  to  this 
fact,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  though  trade  does 
not  necessarily  follow  the  flag,  yet  the  Eng- 
lish trade  more  easily  and  naturally  follows 
the  union  jack  than  it  does  any  other  stand- 
ard. The  inference,  therefore,  seems  clear 
enough  that  England  wishes  to  retain  India. 
But,  furthermore,  it  is  best  for  India  her- 
self that  she  be  retained.  India  has  usually 
been  her  own  worst  enemy.  England  saves 
India  from  herself.  The  testimony  of  native 
scholars  and  thinkers  is  conclusive  that  the  re- 
tirement of  England  would  be  followed  by 
civil  wars.  Mohammedan  would  rise  against 
Hindu  and  Hindu  against  Mohammedan, 
Hindu  sect  against  Hindu  sect,  and  each  cause 
the  other  to  be  put  to  death.  In  war,  says 
Cicero,  the  laws  are  silent :  not  only  are  the 
laws  silent,  but  also  the  loom,  the  potter's  wheel, 
and  the  harvester's  flail.  War  is  the  cessation 
of  the  industries,  as  well  as  of  the  industrious- 
ness,  of  peace.  The  inevitable  civil  wars,  fol- 


THE  FUTURE  OP  INDIA  201 

lowing  England's  retirement,  would  prove  to 
be  the  worst  disaster  which  ever  befell  India, 
and  her  whole  history  has  not  been  without 
severe  disasters. 

It  may  also  be  said  that  it  is  best  for  the  in- 
terests of  the  civilization  of  the  world  for  Eng- 
land to  retain  India.  If  India  be  not  fitted  to 
govern  herself,  no  other  power  than  England 
is  so  well  fitted  to  govern  her.  To  the  govern- 
ment of  so-called  inferior  races  England  brings 
qualities  which  no  other  nation  can  bring.  Eng- 
land does  not  bring  sympathy,  and  is  in  peril 
of  bringing  a  semi-contempt  for  these  races. 
But,  what  is  more  important,  it  does  bring  a 
keen  and  large  sense  of  justice,  which  is  far 
more  precious  than  either  sympathy  or  per- 
sonal respect  could  prove  to  be.  The  Indian 
knows  that  the  low  court  in  his  district  or 
the  high  court  at  Madras  is  as  sure  of  giving 
him  his  rights  as  any  court  that  the  mind  of 
man  could  devise.  Such  an  assurance  is  of 
the  highest  value  to  the  Indian  himself,  and 
also  to  the  interests  of  civilization.  England, 
furthermore,  governs  under  the  conditions  of 


202  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

religious  freedom.  Each  man  is  able  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  or  not  to  worship.  The  right  not 
to  worship  is,  to  some  minds,  made  even  more 
evident  than  the  right  to  worship.  For  the 
government  is  accused  of  being  atheistic  and 
agnostic  in  its  influence  and  tendency.  But  it 
is  plain  to  any  large-minded  interpreter  that 
an  example  of  such  freedom  is  of  great  worth 
to  humanity  in  its  struggle  for  light. 

Again,  too,  England  makes  use  of  the  might- 
iest force  in  civilization  for  the  highest  advan- 
tage of  India, — education.  For  fifty  years  the 
force  has  been  specially  used,  and  with  enlarg- 
ing relationships  and  unto  richer  results.  Only 
five  per  cent  of  the  population  is  yet  able  to 
read  and  write ;  but  to  the  diminution  of  illit- 
eracy and  the  spread  of  learning  England  is 
devoting  funds,  and  giving  wisdom,  too,  with 
a  fullness  which  is  unique  in  the  history  of  the 
government  of  a  people  by  a  foreign  power, 
excepting,  be  it  said,  the  United  States  in  the 
Philippines.  A  large  nation  uneducated  is  not 
only  a  peril  to  itself,  it  is  also  a  menace  to  all 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  203 

other  nations.  In  her  endeavor,  therefore,  to 
educate  India  England  is  promoting  the  high- 
est welfare  of  the  world. 

The  political  future  of  India,  therefore, 
seems  to  promise  a  continuation  of  her  politi- 
cal present.  That  political  future  is,  perhaps, 
the  brightest  of  all  the  elements  that  consti- 
tute India's  national  power.  Life  is  secure;  pro- 
perty is  safe ;  taxation  is  not  high,  and  is  equi- 
table. Every  Indian  knows  that  he  is  as  sure 
of  receiving  justice  from  English  courts  and 
English  rule  as  through  any  government  which 
the  mind  or  hand  of  man  could  establish. 

The  economic  future  of  India,  however, 
opens  a  prospect  less  favorable  than  the  polit- 
ical. About  three  quarters  of  the  laborers  of 
India  are  agricultural.  These  farmers  are  small 
holders ;  and  their  farms  are  cut  up  into 
small  acreage.  After  many  centuries  of  crop- 
pings  of  a  soil,  croppings  made  not  once,  but 
three  or  four  times  a  year,  this  soil  has  in 
many  parts  become  barren.  It  is  said  that  in 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  average  yield 
per  acre  has  lessened  one  half.  The  manure 


204  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

of  cattle  seldom  goes  back  upon  the  land.  It 
is  collected  and  dried,  and  used  as  fuel.  Cot- 
tonseed, too,  an  excellent  fertilizer,  it  is  found 
more  profitable  to  export  than  to  feed  to  cattle ; 
and  the  attempt  to  introduce  modern  tools  of 
agriculture  has  largely  failed,  either  because 
of  their  cost,  or  because  of  the  inability  of  the 
farmer  to  use  them  properly,  or  to  keep  them 
in  repair.  As  one  who  knows  and  loves  India 
said  to  me,  "  A  steel  plough  is  better  than  a 
wooden  stick,  but  what  can  an  Indian  farmer 
do  when  the  point  of  a  steel  plough  breaks  ?  " 
The  village  has  no  blacksmith  who  can  mend 
it.  The  farming  class  lacks  enterprise.  Meth- 
ods are  antiquated.  Eesources  are  small.  A 
general  air  of  helplessness  seems  to  rest  upon 
the  whole  farming  community. 

The  industrial  community  exhibits  a  condi- 
tion of  marked  improvements  and  of  marked 
declines  in  recent  years.  In  the  decade  follow- 
ing 1895  changes  have  occurred  in  more  than 
a  dozen  industries:  — 

1895  19M 

Cotton  Mills 148  203 

Jute  Mills 28  38 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  205 

Woolen  Mills 6  6 

Cotton  ginning,  cleaning,  and  Press  Mills    .  610  951 

Flour  Mills 72  42 

Rice  Mills 87  127 

Sugar  Factories 247  28 

Silk  Filatures 89  75 

Silk  Mills 28  11 

Tanneries 60  35 

Oil  Mills 163  112 

Lace  Factories 138  128 

Iron  and  Brass  Foundries 64  89 

Indigo  Factories  1 8225  422 

The  most  significant  of  all  the  industrial 
developments  is  seen  in  the  cotton  industry. 
The  Bombay  mills  give  daily  employment  to 
about  one  hundred  thousand  factory  opera- 
tives, while  as  many  as  thirty  thousand  more 
are  maintained  by  the  ginning  presses. 

Some  forty  years  ago  we  had  only  13  cot- 
ton mills  in  all  India.  The  number  rose  to  47 
in  1876,  to  95  in  1886,  to  155  in  1895,  and 
to  203  in  1904 ;  and  to-day  the  number  of  our 
cotton  mills  is  still  larger.  We  had  less  than 
4000  power-looms  forty  years  ago ;  the  num- 
ber was  over  47,000  in  1904.  We  had  less 
than  300,000  spindles  forty  years  ago  ;  the 
number  exceeded  five  millions  in  1904.  These 
are  insignificant  figures  compared  with  the 
huge  cotton  industry  of  Lancashire  ;  but  they 

1  The  "Ruling  Chiefs  of  India  "  Series,  No.  1,  p.  75. 


206  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

show  that  we  have  made  steady  progress,  and 
that  we  may  fairly  hope  to  make  greater  pro- 
gress in  the  future  if  we  are  true  to  our  aims  and 
our  own  interests.  Our  annual  produce  of  yarn 
is  nearly  six  hundred  million  pounds  in  weight ; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  out  of  this 
total  out-turn  about  30  per  cent  is  used  mostly 
by  our  hand-loom  weavers.^ 

Socially,  this  change  in  the  cotton  and  other 
industries  is  as  evil  as  industrially  it  is  advan- 
tageous. For  it  is  important  to  preserve  and 
to  promote  the  domestic  industries  of  this  vast 
nation.  Among  all  these  domestic  industries 
the  hand-loom  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important 
tool.  A  hand-loom  has  recently  been  invented 
which  gives  promise  of  being  a  great  rival  of 
the  power-loom.  But  India  is  still  importing 
about  two  thousand  millions  of  yards  of  cotton 
cloth  every  year,  and  making  only  about  six 
hundred  million  yards.  The  value  of  her  im- 
ports of  manufactured  cotton  goods  is  twice 
that  of  her  exports  of  raw  cotton. 

The  industrial  future  of  any  country  de- 
pends upon  the  supply  of  coal  and  iron.  The 

1  Baroda,  the  "  Ruling  Chiefs  of  India  "  Series,  No.  1,  p.  72. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  207 

amount  of  coal,  of  iron  ore,  and  other  minerals 
hidden  beneath  the  brown  sands  of  India  is 
still  unknown.  But  it  is  probably  not  large. 
At  present  the  greater  share  of  Indian  coal, 
about  seven  eighths,  is  mined  in  Bengal ;  but 
the  amount  taken  out  in  all  India  in  a  year  is 
only  four  per  cent  of  that  produced  in  Eng- 
land. India  still  depends  upon  England  for 
those  iron  and  steel  goods  in  the  making  of 
which  coal  so  largely  enters. 

Indian  industries  have  been  and  are  prima- 
rily domestic.  The  question  is  seriously  immi- 
nent whether  the  industrial  movements  of  the 
world,  producing  goods  through  large  facto- 
ries in  immense  quantities,  are  to  overwhelm 
the  home  industries.  At  the  Industrial  Confer- 
ence held  in  Calcutta  in  December,  1906,  the 
Gaekwar  of  Baroda  said  in  the  inaugural  ad- 
dress :  — 

We  know,  however,  that  the  laborers  who 
can  possibly  be  employed  in  mills  and  factories 
form  only  an  insignificant  proportion  of  the 
industrial  population  of  India.  Very  much  the 
larger  portion  of  that  industrial  population  is 
engaged  in  indigenous  industries  carried  on  in 


208  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

village  homes  and  bazaars.  India  is,  and  will 
always  remain,  a  country  of  cottage  indus- 
tries. Where  hundreds  of  thousands  can  work 
in  mills  and  factories,  millions  and  tens  of 
millions  work  in  their  own  huts  ;  and  the  idea 
of  greatly  improving  the  condition  of  the 
laborers  of  India  merely  by  adding  to  mills 
and  factories  is  only  possible  for  those  who 
form  their  opinion  six  thousand  miles  away. 
No,  gentlemen ;  any  comprehensive  plan  of  im- 
proving the  condition  of  our  industrial  classes 
must  seek  to  help  the  dwellers  in  cottages.  It 
is  the  humble  weavers  in  towns  and  villages, 
the  poor  braziers  and  coppersmiths  working  in 
their  sheds,  the  resourceless  potters  and  iron- 
smiths  and  carpenters  who  follow  their  ances- 
tral vocations  in  their  ancestral  homes,  who  form 
the  main  portion  of  the  industrial  population, 
and  who  demand  our  sympathy  and  help.  It  is 
they  (more  than  the  agriculturists,  or  the  mill 
and  factory  laborers)  that  are  most  impover- 
ished in  these  days,  and  are  the  first  victims  to 
famines ;  and  if  your  Swadeshi  movement  has 
brought  some  relief  to  these  obscure  and  unno- 
ticed millions  and  tens  of  millions  in  India,  as  I 
have  reason  to  believe  it  has  done  to  a  percepti- 
ble extent,  if  it  has  created  a  larger  demand  for 
their  manufactures,  widened  the  sphere  of  their 
labors,  and  brought  some  light  to  their  dark 
and  cheerless  homes,  then  the  movement,  gen- 
tlemen, has  my  cordial  sympathy.   Help  and 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  209 

encourage  the  large  industries,  but  foster  and 
help  also  the  humbler  industries,  in  which  tens 
of  millions  of  village  artisans  are  engaged,  and 
the  people  of  India,  as  well  as  those  who  are 
engaged  in  the  work  of  administration,  will 
bless  your  work.* 

Words  well  spoken  are  these ;  for  in  most 
parts  of  the  world  the  large  manufacturer  has 
supplanted  or  suppressed  the  small.  If  this 
condition  shall  come  to  obtain  in  India,  the 
economic  future  of  the  nation  is  indeed  dark. 

The  future  of  any  great  people,  or  small 
too,  is  wrapped  up  largely  also  in  their  social 
system.  The  social  system  of  India  is  founded 
upon  caste ;  and  with  the  system  of  caste  is 
specially  involved  the  condition  of  woman. 
The  evils  of  caste  are  so  great  that  no  one  should 
presume  to  interpret  them  who  has  not  been 
brought  up  in  their  atmosphere.  Regarding 
caste,  I  venture  to  quote  from  the  address 
given  at  the  eighteenth  session  of  the  Indian 
National  Social  Conference,  held  at  Bombay 
in  December,  1904,  by  the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda. 
He  says :  — 

»  The  "Ruling  Chiefs  of  India"  Series,  No.  1,  p.  76. 


210  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

The  evils  of  caste  cover  the  whole  range  of 
social  life.  It  hampers  the  life  of  the  individual 
with  a  vast  number  of  petty  rules  and  observ- 
ances which  have  no  meaning.  It  cripples  him 
in  his  relations  with  his  family,  in  his  marriage, 
in  the  education  of  his  children,  and  espe- 
cially in  his  life.  It  weakens  the  economic 
position  by  attempting  to  confine  him  to  par- 
ticular trades,  by  preventing  him  from  learning 
the  culture  of  the  West,  and  by  giving  him 
an  exaggerated  view  of  his  knowledge  and 
importance.  It  cripples  his  professional  life 
by  increasing  distrust,  treachery,  and  jealousy, 
hampering  a  free  use  of  others'  abilities,  and 
ruins  his  social  life  by  increasing  exclusiveness, 
restricting  the  opportunities  of  social  inter- 
course, and  preventing  that  intellectual  devel- 
opment on  which  the  prosperity  of  any  class 
most  depends.  In  the  wider  spheres  of  life,  in 
municipal  or  local  affairs,  it  destroys  all  hope 
of  local  patriotism,  of  work  for  the  common 
good,  by  thrusting  forward  the  interests  of  the 
caste  as  opposed  to  those  of  the  community, 
and  by  making  combined  efforts  for  the  com- 
mon good  exceedingly  difficult.  But  its  most 
serious  offense  is  its  effect  on  national  life  and 
national  unity.  It  intensifies  local  dissensions 
and  diverse  interests,  and  obscures  great  na- 
tional ideals  and  interests  which  should  be 
those  of  every  caste  and  people,  and  renders 
the  country  disunited  and  incapable  of  im- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  211 

proving  its  defects  or  of  availing  itself  of 
those  advantages  which  it  should  gain  from 
contact  with  the  civilization  of  the  West.  It 
robs  us  of  our  humanity  by  insisting  on  the 
degradation  of  some  of  our  fellow  men  who 
are  separated  from  us  by  no  more  than  the 
accident  of  birth.  It  prevents  the  noble  and 
charitable  impulses  which  have  done  so  much 
for  the  improvement  and  mutual  benefit  of 
European  society.  It  prevents  our  making 
the  most  of  all  the  various  abilities  of  our 
diverse  communities.  It  diminishes  all  our 
emotional  activities  and  intellectual  resources. 
Again,  it  is  the  most  conservative  element  in 
our  society,  and  the  steady  enemy  to  all  re- 
form. Every  reformer  who  has  endeavored  to 
secure  the  advance  of  our  society  has  been 
driven  out  of  it  by  the  operation  of  caste.  By 
its  rigidity,  it  preserves  ignorant  superstitions 
and  clings  to  the  past,  while  it  does  nothing 
to  make  those  inevitable  changes  which  na- 
ture is  ever  pressing  on  us  more  easy  and 
more  possible.^ 

That  caste  is  still  powerful,  not  only  in 
general  society,  but  even  among  Indian  Chris- 
tians, is  sadly  evident.  One  of  the  most  phil- 
osophic and  eminent  of  American  clergymen 
living  in  India,  the  Reverend  Doctor  J.  P. 

1  The  "  Ruling  Chiefs  of  India  "  Series,  No.  1,  pp.  52,  53. 


212  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Jones,  of  Madura,  declares  that  the  church  in 
India  is  "a  very  much  caste-ridden  church." 
He  says  in  detail :  — 

And  yet  such  is  the  fact.  Very  few,  if  any, 
native  Christians  free  themselves  from  this 
bondage  when  they  enter  the  Christian  fold. 
They  still  think  that  their  life  must  be  so- 
cially controlled  by  the  Hindu  caste  system. 

They  freely  shake  off  the  trammels  of  idol- 
atry and  of  Hindu  ceremonial.  They  even 
learn  to  forget  many  of  the  ancestral  super- 
stitions. But  the  caste  ties  remain  largely  un- 
relaxed.  Their  social  ties  and  affinities  in  the 
Christian  church  are  largely  circumscribed  by 
their  Hindu  social  antecedents. 

And  thus  the  infant  Indian  church,  save 
at  certain  mission  centres,  is  still  a  very  much 
caste-ridden  church. 

1.  Its  local  sympathies  are  aligned  along 
Hindu-made  social  strata. 

2.  Marriages  are  contracted  almost  invari- 
ably on  strict  Hindu  caste  lines.  Mixed  or 
inter-caste  marriages  are  still  the  exception. 

3.  Social  pleasures  are  largely  confined  to 
those  of  the  same  caste. 

4.  Christian  congregations  are  limited  to  a 
considerable  extent  to  members  of  one  caste. 
Members  of  other  castes  have  little  idea  of  join- 
ing them  ;  nor  have  the  Christians,  often,  any 
desire  to  gather  them  into  their  Christian  fold. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  213 

5.  In  the  choice  and  employment  of  cate- 
chists  and  pastors  for  the  care  of  village 
churches  and  congregations,  their  caste  ante- 
cedents can  rarely,  if  ever,  be  ignored.  And 
thus  every  missionary  is  much  handicapped 
in  the  delicate  work  of  securing  the  best  spirit- 
ual agency  for  his  field.* 

Woman  in  India  is  chiefly  or  only  a  wife  and 
a  mother.  Each  condition  represents  a  period 
of  servitude.  The  servitude  of  the  wife  follows 
the  servitude  of  the  daughter,  and  is  in  turn 
succeeded  by  the  servitude  of  the  widow  to  her 
son,  in  case  she  becomes  a  widow. 

She  is  married  early.  The  nuptials  may  be 
made  long  before  she  reaches  her  teens.  Her 
first  child  is  born  also  early,  and  is  born  to 
her  in  ignorance  so  great  that  it  usually  dies. 
But  the  following  multiplication  of  children 
is  so  rapid  that  each  comes  into  life  small  and 
puny,  and  comes  into  a  home  in  which  food  is 
scarce,  work  heavy,  and  comforts  few  or  none. 
Yet  polygamy  is  not  uncommon,  and  the  re- 
marriage of  a  widow  is  prohibited.  To  the 

*  The  Indian  Church  and  Caste,  by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Jones, 
D.  D.  p.  2. 


214  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

husband  is  given  the  right  of  putting  away 
his  wife  if  she  fail  to  bear  children,  or  even 
for  causes  less  serious,  and  possibly  not  under 
her  immediate  control.  Purdah  secludes  women 
from  society.  Young  do  women  become  old, 
and  young  do  they  die. 

The  religion  of  a  nation  is  at  once  a  chief 
cause  and  result  of  its  civilization.  The  religion 
of  India  is  religions.  Three  fourths  of  the  peo- 
ple are  adherents  of  Hinduism.  The  remain- 
ing quarter  is  largely  composed  of  Mohamme- 
dans, with  Buddhists,  Sikhs,  and  Christians 
following  in  smaller  proportions.  Hinduism, 
in  its  larger  relations,  is  a  great  system  of  faith. 
But  in  its  interpretation  by  the  people  it  is  a 
conglomeration  of  irrational  beliefs  and  blind 
superstitions.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that,  in  the  his- 
tory of  religions,  the  less  worthy  elements  of 
belief  seem  to  make  the  stronger  appeal  to  the 
great  body  of  people.  The  esoteric  faith  ap- 
pears quite  unlike  the  exoteric,  and  far  supe- 
rior to  it.  No  one  can  visit  the  temples  in 
Benares,  in  which  a  sacred  bull  and  sacred 
cows  convert  marble  halls  into  filthy  stables, 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  216 

and  in  which  worshipers  as  devout  as  they  are 
irrational  perform  rites  which  cannot  be  de- 
scribed, and  no  one  can  sail  of  a  morning  along 
the  Ganges  and  witness  the  drinking  of  the 
filthy  water  by  the  pilgrims,  without  being 
stirred  in  heart  and  mind  unto  shame  and 
disgust.  If,  however,  one  turn  to  the  bet- 
ter of  the  sacred  books  of  these  same  uncon- 
sciously shameless  idolaters,  or  if  he  confer  in 
person  with  the  priests  of  these  faiths,  he  is  im- 
pressed by  the  nobility  of  the  ethical  princi- 
ples, and  by  the  truth  of  the  theistic  beliefs 
which  they  profess.  It  must  be  said,  however, 
that  ninety-nine  one  hundredths  of  the  Hindu 
people  of  India  accept  a  faith  without  reason- 
ing, follow  its  teachings  without  questioning, 
and  obey  its  severest  commands  without  flinch- 
ing. Under  such  conditions  lie  no  hopes  for 
the  upbuilding  of  a  great  and  strong  nation. 
The  force  most  general  of  application  for 
the  promotion  of  the  highest  elements  of  civ- 
ilization in  India  is  educational.  Education 
meets  with  great  difficulties,  however.  Chief  is 
the  indifference  of  the  people,  and  next  their 


216  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

poverty.  Apathy  prevents  parents  from  wish- 
ing to  educate  their  children,  and  poverty  pre- 
vents their  giving  them  an  education.  Poverty 
renders  the  support  of  all  schools  difficult,  and 
prompts  parents  to  put  their  children  to  work 
early  in  order  to  increase  the  small  income 
of  the  family.  The  education  of  girls  labors, 
in  addition,  under  the  pecuHar  difficulties  of 
seclusion,  caste,  and  early  marriage.  Educa- 
tion should  be  made  by  gradual  processes  com- 
pulsory, and  also  free,  despite  the  heavy  ad- 
dition resulting  to  the  tax  budget.  As  the 
Gaekwar  of  Baroda  has  said :  — 

Great  and  far-reaching  changes  might  be 
made  in  the  educational  system  of  the  country, 
and  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  no  ultimate  so- 
lution of  our  problem  will  be  reached  until 
schools  have  been  provided  in  every  village, 
and  education  is  taken  to  the  very  thresholds 
of  the  people  ;  until,  in  fact,  education,  at 
least  in  its  primary  grades,  has  been  made 
free  and  compulsory  throughout  the  land.* 

The  manual  and  technical  side  of  education 
should  receive  as  great  a  development  as  the 

*  Baroda,  the  "Ruling  Chiefs  of  India"  Series,  No.  1, 
p.  84. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  217 

primary  side.  The  general  value  of  such  an 
education  is  hardly  less  than  its  industrial 
worth,  for  scientific  training  would  give  the 
Indian  a  discipHne  in  definite  and  direct  pro- 
cesses of  thinking,  of  which  he  stands  in  dire 
need.  However  great  may  be  the  value  at- 
tached to  linguistic  and  philosophic  studies, 
this  value  is  less  great  for  the  Indian  youth  at 
the  present  time  than  the  value  of  scientific 
training.  Herein  lies  one  hope  for  India.  If 
technical  and  scientific  education  could  be 
pursued  by  hundreds  of  thousands  instead  of 
by  thousands,  as  it  is  at  present,  India  would 
be  lifted,  enlarged,  enriched.  To  quote  again 
from  the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda  :  — 

I  must  confess  that  it  is  my  recent  visit  to 
Europe  and  to  America  that  has  impressed  me 
most  with  the  immense  importance  of  techni- 
cal education  in  promoting  the  industries  of 
nations.  I  may  state  without  exaggeration  that 
education  has  undergone  a  complete  revolution 
in  the  West  within  the  present  generation. 
The  great  armaments  of  the  Western  nations, 
their  vast  armies  and  navies,  do  not  receive 
greater  attention  and  greater  solicitude  in  the 
present  day  than  that  education  in  industrial 


218  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

pursuit  which  befits  them  for  the  keener  strug- 
gle, which  is  continually  going  on  among 
nations  for  industrial  and  manufacturing  su- 
premacy/ 

But  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the  people, 
their  prosperity  or  their  failure,  lies  not  so  much 
in  conditions  as  in  themselves.  In  themselves 
are  found  the  elements  of  gravest  foreboding 
for  their  character.  They  lack  strength, — 
strength  of  will,  strength  of  reasoning  intel- 
lect. They  do  not  have  initiative.  They  see 
truth  with  their  feelings,  and  the  emotional 
vision  is  stronger  than  either  the  reasoned  con- 
clusion of  conscience  or  the  act  of  will.  They 
see  truth  with  greater  facility  than  they  follow 
its  duties  in  unflagging  endurance.  They  do 
not  possess  the  sense  of  large  and  exact  truth- 
fulness. Lord  Curzon  told  them  plainly  that 
exaggeration  was  characteristic  of  the  nation, 
and  they  hated  him  for  his  frankness. 

Furthermore,  the  people  of  India  do  not 
have  faith  in  themselves  as  individuals.  The 
faith  of  the  nation  in  itself  seems  to  be  strong, 

»  The  «  Ruling  Chiefs  of  India  "  Series,  No.  1,  p.  84. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  219 

but  the  faith  of  each  man  in  and  for  himself 
seems  to  be  lacking.  The  decline  of  the  nation 
for  fourteen  hundred  years  has  affected  the 
spirit  of  the  individual  quite  as  much  as  the 
spirit  of  the  nation.  Upon  this  important 
point,  as  upon  others,  I  quote  from  an  address 
made  by  the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda :  — 

From  500  a.  d.  we  find  a  steady  decline  in 
the  political  and  mental  condition  of  the  coun- 
try down  to  the  two  centuries  of  darkness  from 
which  we  emerge  into  the  periods  of  Rajput 
and  the  Mahomedan  conquest.  Follow  the  for- 
tunes of  India  down  the  next  eight  centuries 
and  note  the  steady  decline  in  Hindu  power 
both  political  and  mental,  till  we  come  to  the 
time  when  Europeans  obtain  a  firm  footing  in 
India,  and  conquer  the  country  with  very  slen- 
der means,  meeting  and  conquering  each  prob- 
lem as  it  arises.  For  fourteen  hundred  years 
the  record  is  one  of  steady  decline  in  political 
and  mental  nationality.^ 

The  Gaekwar  also  says :  — 

Our  weakness  lies  in  this,  that  we  have  for 
many  years  lain  prostrate  under  the  fictitious 
sense  of  our  own  helplessness  and  made  no 
adequate  attempt  to  react  against  our  circum- 

»  The  "  RuHng  Chiefs  of  India  "  Series,  No.  1,  p.  44. 


220  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

stances.  We  have  succumbed  where  we  should 
have  exhausted  every  possibility  of  resistance 
and  remedy. 

Without  self-confidence  you  can  never  do 
anything ;  you  will  never  found  an  industry 
or  build  up  a  trade,  for  you  have  nothing  to 
carry  you  through  the  first  anxious  years  when 
the  only  dividend  is  Hope,  and  the  best  assets 
are  unfaltering  courage  and  faith  in  one's  self. 
And  without  confidence  in  one  another  you 
will  never  have  a  credit  system,  and  without  a 
credit  system  no  modern  commerce  can  exist. 
It  is  this  want  of  cooperation  and  mutual  dis- 
trust which  paralyze  Indian  industry,  ruin 
the  statesman,  and  discredit  the  individual 
even  in  his  own  household.  I  believe  that  this 
trait  of  our  character,  though  in  some  cases 
arising  from  our  obvious  defects  and  instances 
of  actual  misconduct  among  ourselves,  is 
mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  nation  has  long 
been  split  up  into  incoherent  units,  but  also 
to  the  ignorance  and  restricted  vision  which 
result  from  our  own  exclusiveness.  We  have 
denied  ourselves  the  illuminating  experience 
of  foreign  travel,  and  are  too  prone  to  ima- 
gine that  our  weaknesses  are  confined  to  India. 
Failures  and  defalcations  are  as  common  in 
Europe  as  among  ourselves ;  and  yet  we  allow 
ourselves  to  be  too  easily  discouraged  by  such 
incidents.  Hence  arises  a  habit  oJE  censorious 


THE  FUTURE  OF  INDIA  221 

judgment,  a  disposition  to  put  the  worst  con- 
struction on  the  conduct  of  our  friends  and 
relatives  without  trying  to  find  the  truth,  which 
destroys  all  trust  and  tolerance.  Our  view  of 
the  conduct  of  friends,  of  the  policy  of  admin- 
istrations, of  the  success  and  integrity  of  com- 
mercial undertakings,  are  all  vitiated  by  a  readi- 
ness to  believe  the  worst.  It  is  only  when  we 
learn  to  suspend  judgment,  and  know  the  man 
and  the  motive  before  we  criticise,  that  we 
shall  be  able  to  repose  trust  where  trust  is  due. 
We  must  stiffen  our  character,  and  educate 
ourselves  up  to  a  higher  moral  standard.^ 

Not  long  before  his  death  the  late  Charles 
Cuthbert  Hall  wrote  to  a  friend,  saying,  "  I 
exult  that  I  received  my  wound  on  God's  great 
battlefield."  India  is  a  great  battlefield  of  God, 
and,  it  may  be  added,  of  man.  The  conflict  is 
to  be  long  and  hard.  The  forces  are  many,  di- 
verse in  character,  and  diverse  also  in  strength 
and  aggressiveness.  The  contest  will  go  on  for 
how  many  generations  one  knows  not,  under 
the  English  flag.  In  its  waging.  Western  indus- 
tries. Western  religion,  and  Western  education 
have  a  large  part.    Through  them,  and  their 

» The  «  Ruling  Chiefs  of  India  "  Series,  No.  1,  pp.  26, 41, 42. 


222  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

allies,  it  may  be  hoped  that  India  will  be  quick- 
ened into  a  finer  life,  even  than  that  which 
was  hers  before  her  decline  of  fourteen  cen- 
turies ago. 


AMERICA  IN  THE  PACIFIC 


XIV 

SCIENCE  AS  A  NATION'S  PEOTECTOR 

The  problem  of  self-protection  is  the  most 
important  problem  of  a  nation.  The  term  has 
come  to  be  used  in  a  sense  somewhat  unlike 
that  in  which  it  is  used  in  the  expression  "pro- 
tection and  free  trade."  The  larger  sense  is 
probably  a  more  important  and  significant  one 
than  can  be  attached  to  it  in  the  economic 
meaning.  As  the  United  States  has  come  to 
cover  tropical  territory,  self  -  protection  has 
become  one  of  its  problems.  This  problem  is 
presented  in  a  microcosm  in  the  territory  of 
Hawaii. 

The  problem  of  self -protection  is  a  negative 
part  or  side  of  the  larger  problem  of  greatest 
productivity ;  the  problem,  to  wit,  of  getting 
the  most  from  earth  and  air  and  sea.  It  is  the 
problem  both  of  preservation  of  forests  and 
of  the  enlargement  of  forest  area.  It  is  the 
problem  of  the  introduction  of   new  plants 


226  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

and  fruits  and  the  improvement  of  old  ones. 
It  is  the  problem,  also,  which  belongs  to  the 
increase  and  improvement  of  domestic  animals. 
It  is  a  problem  which  concerns  those  lands 
where  frosts  never  fall  to  purify.  It  is,  in  a 
word,  the  problem  of  the  efficiency  of  nature. 
The  problem  is  essentially  a  scientific  one.  It 
must  be  interpreted  and  defined  in  the  terms 
of  science,  solved  by  the  processes  of  science, 
and  its  results  must  be  applied  under  the  cate- 
gories of  science. 

The  enemies  from  which  vegetation  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  suffers,  and  from  which  it 
must  be  protected,  are  of  two  kinds,  but  the 
number  of  varieties  under  each  of  these  kinds 
is  great.  These  two  kinds  are  insects  and 
fungi.  Some  of  these  pests  are  native,  others 
are  the  result  of  importation.  Perhaps  what 
might  be  called  the  most  spectacular  of  all  these 
foes  is  one  known  as  the  cane  leaf-hopper. 
The  leaf -hopper  came  to  the  islands  one  hardly 
knows  whence,  but  probably  from  either  Aus- 
tralia or  China.  The  exact  time  of  its  coming 
is  also  unknown,  for  it  may  have  been  here 


SCIENCE  AS  A  NATION'S  PROTECTOR    227 

for  years  before  it  was  recognized  as  pestifer- 
ous. But  surely  it  came,  this  little  insect  of  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  length.  It  came,  and  it 
spread  over  the  fields  of  cane  to  the  number 
of  countless  millions.  It  threatened  to  destroy 
these  vast  fields  of  waving  stalks,  and  it  did 
succeed  in  lessening  the  productivity  of  many 
a  plantation.  The  problem  was  to  find  a  de- 
stroyer for  this  destroyer.  Two  scientists  took 
upon  themselves  to  make  the  discovery.  They 
went  to  Australia,  where  it  was  known  that 
the  pest  had  existed.  By  living  in  fields  and 
swamps  infested  with  this  insect,  by  investi- 
gation, by  observation  and  the  application  of 
all  scientific  methods,  they  found  a  parasite 
for  the  leaf -hopper.  The  parasite  was  brought 
to  the  plantations  of  the  islands.  A  little  in- 
sect it  was  itself,  laying  its  egg  inside  the  egg 
of  the  leaf-hopper,  and  killing  the  egg.  The 
parasite  was  introduced,  propagated,  and  dis- 
seminated. After  half  a  dozen  years  the  leaf- 
hopper,  which  at  one  time  threatened  to  de- 
stroy the  whole  sugar  industry,  became  al- 
most a  curiosity  so  small  was  his  tribe. 


228  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

The  problem  of  self-protection  is  also  seen 
in  the  extreme  care  taken  regarding  the  intro- 
duction of  any  plant  or  animal  into  the  ter- 
ritory of  Hawaii.  One  might  possibly  smuggle 
in  a  small  bug  or  a  garter-snake,  but  it  would 
be  practically  impossible  to  bring  in  a  box 
of  either.  Inspectors  inspect  each  landing; 
and  importations  which  do  not  pass  may  suf- 
fer either  fumigation,  return,  or  destruction. 
Many  instances  I  might  cite,  but  a  few  are 
typical.  (1)  Sugar  cane  cuttings  came  in  by 
mail  from  Queensland  in  two  packages.  In- 
spection proved  that  the  cane  had  been  air 
tacked  by  a  skin  fungus,  and  that  "mealy 
bugs  "  were  hidden  at  the  base  of  the  leaves. 
(2)  Another  package  of  sugar  cane  was  en- 
tered from  the  Philippine  Islands,  which  bore 
evidence  of  attacks  of  the  cane  borer.  Both 
these  importations  were  burned.  In  the  past 
year  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  pack- 
ages of  fruits  and  vegetables  have  been  in- 
spected, of  which  almost  seven  hundred  have 
been  either  returned  or  destroyed  either  as  be- 
ing infested  with  insects  or  as  containing  germs 


SCIENCE  AS  A  NATION'S  PROTECTOR    229 

of  disease.  Kice  from  Japan  to  the  amount  of 
more  than  twenty  thousand  sacks  was  at  one 
time  fumigated,  to  kill  out  the  larvae  of  a  small 
brown  beetle  and  other  pests.  Soil,  brought  as 
ballast,  has  been  dumped  into  the  ocean  out- 
side the  harbor,  because  it  contained  vegetable 
roots  or  matter  which  proved  pestiferous.  As 
I  write  I  learn  of  some  thousand  packages  of 
Japanese  rice  being  fumigated.  Fumigation 
does  not  seem  to  hurt  the  kernel  in  any  way. 
Perhaps  no  instance  is  more  picturesquely 
recognized  by  the  Hawaiian  people  in  the 
care  taken  to  prevent  dangerous  introductions 
than  is  found  in  a  case  of  the  importation  of 
snakes  (designed  for  exhibition)  a  few  years 
ago.  The  story  is  well  told  in  the  second  re- 
port of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Agri- 
culture and  Forestry.  The  Hawaiian  Islands 
have  always  been  famed  for  their  freedom 
from  snakes.  People  and  animals  could  wan- 
der with  impunity  through  valleys  and  over 
hills  and  mountains. 

An  importation  arrived  on  the  2d  of  June 
ex  S.  S.  Alameda  from  California,  that  might 


230  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

have  put  an  end  to  such  delightful  serenity. 
This  was  the  arrival  of  three  flimsy  boxes, 
containing  fourteen  large,  living  snakes,  five 
of  them  the  deadly  rattler.  Under  a  rule 
such  animals  arriving  in  the  territory  of 
Hawaii  are  ordered  to  be  immediately  de- 
stroyed or  deported.  "In  the  destruction  of 
snakes,"  says  the  narrator,  "we  had  a  sur- 
prising experience.  I  placed  the  boxes  of  snakes 
in  one  of  our  fumigating  chambers  and  ap- 
plied a  charge  of  double  density  of  hydro- 
cyanic acid  gas,  and  the  snakes  were  still  alive 
at  the  end  of  fifteen  minutes,  whereas,  if  they 
had  been  warm-blooded  animals  they  would 
have  succumbed  in  a  less  number  of  seconds. 
They  were  again  shut  up  and  a  quadruple 
charge  of  that  deadly  gas  was  administered, 
and  at  the  end  of  one  hour  and  a  half  the 
fumigator  was  opened  and  several  of  the 
snakes  still  showed  signs  of  life.  We  then 
immersed  them  in  95%  of  alcohol,  and  that 
soon  put  an  end  to  their  venomous  existence. 
A  fitting  death,  as  the  same  liquid,  in  a  modi- 
fied form,  is  considered  an  antidote  to  their 
deadly  bite." 

But  many  beneficial  insects  beside  the  par- 
asite which  killed  out  the  leaf-hopper  have 
been  introduced.  Among  them  have  been 
dung  beetles,  or  what  are  known  as  "turn- 


SCIENCE  AS  A  NATION'S  PROTECTOR    231 

ble-bugs/'  mosquito  minnows,  and  various 
families  and  colonies  of  the  lady-bird.  There 
lies  before  me  a  list  of  no  less  than  twenty- 
three  colonies  of  beneficial  species  of  insects 
which  have  recently  been  distributed  about 
the  islands.  The  nimiber  of  these  colonies  is 
more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty,  and  they 
aggregate  some  five  thousand  specimens. 

But  the  scientists  of  these  islands  are  not 
content  with  negative  methods  or  experimen- 
tation. Endeavors  are  constantly  made  to  im- 
prove the  forms  of  vegetation  which  are  most 
important  in  these  islands.  Experimentation 
with  new  varieties  of  sugar  cane  is  constantly 
going  forward.  Some  of  these  experiments 
give  promise  of  securing  growths  far  more 
heavily  laden  with  sugar  juice  than  are  the 
ordinary  types.  The  process  of  experimenta- 
tion includes  many  elements.  The  new  varie- 
ties are  raised  from  seedlings.  Out  of  some 
five  thousand  seedlings  of  recent  times  there 
emerged  only  twenty-one  varieties  that  seemed 
worthy  of  further  study  or  development.  But 
already,  out  of  these  twenty-one,  have  ap- 


232  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

peared  one  or  two  varieties  which  give  pres- 
ent promise  of  a  vast  increase  in  sugar  juice. 
In  case  any  such  result  should  finally  emerge, 
it  would  increase  the  productivity  of  these 
acres  manifold. 

But  though  the  sugar  industry  is  the  chief 
industry  of  these  islands,  and  is  the  one  to 
which  scientific  methods  have  been  specially 
applied,  it  is  not  the  only  form  of  nature's 
productivity  which  has  scientific  relations. 
The  fruits  of  Hawaii  are  many,  and  are  pre- 
cious to  the  taste  of  man  as  well  as  to  his 
purse.  Science  is  applying  herself  to  scores 
of  these  fruits,  both  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing a  richer  yield  and  a  better  flavor.  Sci- 
ence also  is  concerned  with  their  marketing 
as  well  as  their  raising. 

The  scientific  work  touching  the  various 
plants  and  fruits  of  these  islands  is  done  by 
three  institutions.  One  is  the  Board  of  Com- 
missioners of  Agriculture  and  Forestry  of  the 
Territory  of  Hawaii,  one  the  Federal  Experi- 
ment Station,  and  one  the  Hawaiian  Sugar 
Planters'  Association. 


SCIENCE  AS  A  NATION'S  PROTECTOR    233 

The   first,  as  the  name  indicates,  is   the 
creation  of  the  Territorial  Government;  the 
second  is  an  institution  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment ;  the  third  is  a  society,  as  its  title 
intimates,  organized  by  and  among  the  sugar 
planters  themselves.  The  first  is,  of  course, 
supported  by  the  Territorial,  the  second  by 
the  General,  government,  and  the  third  by  the 
sugar  planters.  Of  the  three  the  Sugar  Plant- 
ers' is  the  most  unique.  It  is  the  largest  soci- 
ety organized  anywhere  for  the  protection  of 
the  sugar  industry.  It  includes  a  laboratory 
of  chemistry,  of  pathology,  of  physiology,  and 
of  entomology.  It  enrolls  a  score  of  workers 
gathered  from  South  America,  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  from  the  Malay  Peninsula.    Ox- 
ford, Cambridge,  the  University  of  London, 
as  well   as   several    American  colleges,    are 
represented  among  its  members.   The  plant- 
ers voluntarily  give  about  seventy  thousand 
dollars  a  year  for  the  support  of  this  work, 
the  amount  given  by  each  plantation  being 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  sugar  pro- 
duced. 


234  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Hawaii  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  illus- 
trations in  the  whole  world  of  the  worth  of 
science  in  the  promotion  of  the  material  wel- 
fare and  happiness  of  man. 


XV 

GREAT  MEN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  motives  which  have  led  a  few  thousand 
Americans  to  the  Philippines  in  the  last  years 
for  either  a  brief  or  a  prolonged  stay  are  as 
diverse  as  are  the  characters  of  these  men  them- 
selves. But  more  common  is  the  motive  pe- 
cuniary, and  also  the  motive  of  interest  in  the 
great  human  problem  of  the  civilization  of 
these  islands.  The  motive  pecuniary  has  not 
proved  so  conclusive  as  its  promise  indicated. 
Some  of  the  funds  put  into  large  undertakings 
—  street  railroads  and  electric  power  plants — 
have  begun  to  make  returns;  but  the  returns 
are  not  worthily  remunerative.  Some  seven 
hundred  miles  of  steam  railroad  are  now 
under  construction,  besides  two  hundred  al- 
ready built,  and  give  no  present  income.  The 
merchant  is  prosperous,  but  not  with  a  pros- 
perity which  need  awaken  the  jealousy  of  his 
American  brother.  Those  who  have  come  to 


236  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

the  Philippines  upon  a  salary  —  and  they  are 
by  far  the  larger  number — find  that  this  sal- 
ary is  considerably  larger  than  they  would 
receive  in  the  States.  In  some  cases  it  is  no 
less  than  threefold,  and  in  many  twofold. 
But  its  purchasing  power,  its  value  in  utili- 
ties, is  not  larger  than  the  ordinary  and  nor- 
mal salary  received  at  home.  The  professor 
in  an  American  law  school  in  Michigan  or 
Wisconsin  receiving  three  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  coming  to  the  islands  as  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  Court  is  given  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars as  an  annual  stipend;  but  in  Manila  he 
finds  it  is  quite  as  necessary  to  spend  ten 
thousand  dollars  as  to  spend  three  thousand 
in  Ann  Arbor  or  Madison.  Prices  are  high. 
Entertaining,  in  particular,  is  constant  and 
somewhat  elaborate. 

Not  a  larger  but  a  more  important  number 
of  Americans  have  come  under  the  spell  of 
the  interest  in  the  foundation  and  fostering 
of  American  institutions  in  these  islands  of 
the  Far  East.  To  establish  a  political  demo- 
cracy among  warring  tribes ;  to  found  social 


GREAT  MEN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES       237 

institutions  among  men  whose  life  is  bare 
and  barren ;  to  promote  the  element  of  rea- 
sonableness among  tribes  in  which  supersti- 
tion has  largely  ruled;  to  enrich,  if  not  to 
establish,  civilization,  under  American  influ- 
ences, in  the  Philippines ;  to  have  a  hand,  a 
heart,  and  a  head  in  doing  these  and  many- 
other  things,  industrial,  educational,  hygienic, 
administrative,  —  has  been  the  motive  which 
has  brought  men  to  and  has  kept  and  still 
keeps  not  a  few — and  them  of  the  best  — 
men  in  these  islands. 

This  human  motive  rather  enlarges  in  in- 
terest and  f  orcef  ulness  with  the  passing  years. 
For  the  contrast  between  the  English  method 
of  governing,  as  seen  in  her  great  and  unique 
field  of  India,  and  the  American  method  as 
manifest  in  the  small  field  of  the  Philippines, 
becomes  increasingly  evident.  England  gov- 
erns India  a  great  deal  as  Eome  governed  her 
provinces,  leaving  to  the  subject  state  the  en- 
joyment of  most  social  and  domestic  institu- 
tions, compelling  the  people  to  recognize  the 
sovereignty  of  the  conqueror,  with  little  or  no 


238  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

thought  of  the  coining  of  the  time  when  the 
foreign  ruler  can  retire.  The  United  States, 
on  the  contrary,  is  in  the  Philippines  in  order 
to  hasten  the  time  when  the  presence  of  its 
soldiers  and  civilians  may  become  absolutely 
superfluous,  —  so  complete  has  become  the 
absorption  of  the  noblest  American  influ- 
ences, and  so  fundamental  and  thorough  has 
been  the  acceptance  of  American  institutions. 
The  contrast  is  deep,  very  deep.  The  Ameri- 
can method  in  the  Philippines  cannot,  and  it 
does  not,  fail  to  move  American  men  of  altru- 
istic temper,  of  hopeful  temperaments,  of  clear 
and  profound  intellectual  insight  and  of  great 
human  instincts,  to  give  themselves  to  service 
in  these  far-off  parts  of  the  world. 

The  contrast  between  the  conduct  of  Amer- 
ica in  the  Philippines  and  of  Japan  in  Korea 
is  likewise  impressive.  The  population  of 
Korea  is  only  slightly  larger  than  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Philippines.  Each  people  might 
be  called  a  belated  nation.  Japan  is  feeling 
her  way  somewhat  in  her  administration  of 
Korea.  But  who  doubts  that  the  primary  aim 


GREAT  MEN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES       239 

of  Japan  in  Korea  is  to  benefit  Japan?  But 
the  primary  aim  at  the  present  time  of  Amer- 
ica in  the  Philippines  is  to  benefit  the  people 
themselves.  With  noble  interest  will  the  world 
watch  the  methods  and  the  results  of  the 
government  of  two  subject  provinces  by  two 
commanding  nations. 

The  men  who,  under  the  influence  of  either 
the  egoistic  or  the  altruistic  motive,  or  both, 
have  come  to  the  Philippines  in  the  decade  since 
America  has  had  an  interest  in  them  repre- 
sent the  noblest  elements  of  American  man- 
hood. I  compare  these  men  —  judges,  commis- 
sioners, oJB&cials  of  all  grades  —  with  similar 
civilians  whom  England  has  sent  to  India  and 
to  many  colonies  and  provinces.  I  compare 
them  with  the  foreigners  of  several  nationalities 
who  have  taken  up  residence  and  work  in  world- 
cities  like  Hong-Kong,  Shanghai,  Yokohama. 
The  result  of  the  comparison  is,  on  the  whole, 
favorable  to  the  American.  In  intellectual  and 
moral  strength,  in  insight,  comprehensiveness, 
solidity  and  sobriety,  integrity,  efficiency,  the 
American  is  superior.  The  more  free  and  em- 


240  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

phatic  I  wish  to  be  in  this  judgment,  for  when 
I  set  foot  in  Manila  I  had  no  thought  I  should 
find  men  of  such  greatness.  But  the  conclu- 
sion was  inevitable, — America  has  given  of 
her  best. 

In  this  condition  are  two  elements  specially 
significant.  One  is  the  lack  of  home  partisan- 
ship in  the  making  of  civil  appointments.  Of 
course,  the  Civil  Service  rules  shut  out  partisan- 
ship to  a  large  extent;  but  in  offices  which 
are  not  under  these  rules,  partisanship  plays 
a  very  insignificant  part.  "  I  don't  know,"  said 
a  conspicuous  citizen  of  Manila,  "whether  Gov- 
ernor-General Smith  is  a  Republican  or  a  Dem- 
ocrat." Happy  is  it  that  the  home  political 
divisions  have  not  been  transported  to  the  is- 
lands. The  good  of  the  service  is  a  rule  which 
has  been  well  followed.  Efficiency  has  been, 
is,  and  will  be  the  test. 

The  other  element  of  special  worth  lies  in 
the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  men  in  the  Phil- 
ippines are  college  men.  The  men  of  liberal 
education,  men  of  the  whole  world,  represent 
the  great  human  qualities  of  sympathy,  justice, 


GREAT  MEN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES       241 

culture,  noble  appreciations.  Such  men  are  the 
most  valuable  members  of  any  society.  These 
men  to  the  number  of  several  thousand  are 
giving  themselves  to  this  new  people  of  the 
Pacific.  The  college  man  rather  than  the  mili- 
tary man  is  influential.  The  University  Club 
on  the  Lunetta  is  more  significant  than  Fort 
McKinley. 

These  men,  engaged  either  ofl&cially  or  per- 
sonally in  this  great  work,  are  as  a  body  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  hopefulness.  They  believe 
that  great  results  for  humanity  and  for  Amer- 
ica are  to  be  the  final  conclusion  of  this  occu- 
pation. "  We  are  to  win  " ;  "  We  cannot  fail " ; 
"  We  must  not  permit  ourselves  to  think  of 
retirement  till  this  child  people  has  come  to 
mature  strength  "  :  such  are  the  common  senti- 
ments. These  sentiments  have  greatly  strength- 
ened in  the  last  twelvemonth.  The  peace  on 
the  whole  increasing  among  all  the  tribes,  the 
calling  and  excellent  conduct  of  the  first  Phil- 
ippine Assembly,  the  enlarging  establishment 
of  the  institutions  of  the  higher  civilization,  — 
churches,  schools,  clubs,  —  have  each  made  a 


242  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

worthy  contribution  to  the  optimistic  spirit. 
Moreover,  as  it  has  become  evident  that,  de- 
spite heavy  administrative  expenditures,  the 
United  States  will  not  surrender  the  islands, 
a  policy  of  making  investments  in  great  utili- 
ties, and  small  as  well,  has  been  adopted.  The 
spirit  of  pessimism  prevailing  a  few  years  ago, 
as  it  is  said,  has  passed  away.  Manila  has  be- 
come the  city  of  the  optimist. 

The  wise  people  of  the  islands,  however,  as 
the  wise  people  at  home,  know  well  that  the 
solution  of  the  American  problem  is  to  take  a 
long  time.  Civilization  demands  not  years,  but 
decades;  not  decades,  but  generations;  not 
generations,  but  centuries.  Yet  America  is 
taking  over  this  people  at  least  one  generation 
ahead  of  the  point  at  which  many  nations  have 
accepted  the  guardianship  of  subject  races.  The 
three  hundred  years  of  mediaeval  civilization 
and  ecclesiasticism  which  Spain  gave  the  Phil- 
ippines at  once  hardened  and  enriched  the 
native  character.  With  certain  evil  results  were 
joined  beneficent  effects.  Yet,  notwithstanding 
this  temporal  advantage,  the  lifting  of  a  peo- 


GREAT  MEN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES       243 

pie  so  diverse  as  to  include  gentlemen,  head- 
hunters,  and  naked  savages  is  to  take  genera- 
tion after  generation.  "  There  is  no  discharge 
in  this  war."  But  the  problem  should  become 
more  simple  with  each  passing  decade,  the  ex- 
pense to  the  home  government  lessened,  the 
opposing  elements  minimized,  till,  with  the 
increasing  degree  of  political  and  other  inde- 
pendence gradually  given  this  people  with 
each  year,  America  can  fittingly  retire,  her 
work  done,  her  problem  solved,  a  subject  peo- 
ple lifted  into  worthy  place  and  power.  That 
happy  day  is  to  dawn,  but  its  dawning  is  far 
away  in  the  future. 

This  time  is  made  more  distant  by  reason 
of  a  simple  condition  now  prevailing,  the  brief 
tenure  of  the  residence  of  most  men  and  fami- 
lies. Some  stay  two  years,  some  five,  and  some 
—  they  are  few  —  ten.  The  climate  is  enervat- 
ing, and  the  distance  from  home  great.  Chil- 
dren here  born  and  bred  are  in  peril  of  being 
weak  in  body.  No  American  can  worthily  be 
blamed  for  his  unwillingness  to  do  his  perma- 
nent work  in  these  islands. 


244  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

The  same  condition  obtains  in  India.  As 
Townsend  says  in  his  "Asia  and  Europe": 
"  No  ruler  stays  there  to  help,  or  criticise,  or 
moderate  his  successor.  No  successful  white 
soldier  founds  a  family.  No  white  man  who 
makes  a  fortune  builds  a  house  or  buys  an 
estate  for  his  descendants.  The  very  planter, 
the  very  engine-driver,  the  very  foreman  of 
works,  departs  before  he  is  sixty,  leaving  no 
child,  or  house,  or  trace  of  himself  behind."  * 
Permanence,  however,  would  vastly  promote 
the  worth  of  the  forces  making  for  betterment 
in  both  India  and  the  Philippines.  Permanence 
would  mean  accumulation  of  thought  and  of 
experience.  But  even  with  this  limitation,  the 
greatness  of  the  results  which  the  great  men 
of  the  Philippines  are  winning  for  America 
and  for  the  race  is  assured. 

1  Asia  and  Europe,  by  Meredith  Townsend,  p.  86. 


XVI 

THE  AMEKICAN  TEACHER  IN  THE 
PHILIPPINES 

Governor  -  General  Smith,  of  the  Philip- 
pines, concluding  a  long  conversation  upon 
the  worthiness  and  efficiency  of  the  Americans 
who  have  come  to  the  islands,  said,  "But,  after 
all,  the  best  of  them  all  is  the  American 
teacher."  The  American  teachers,  both  men 
and  women,  are  doing  more  for  the  permanent 
elevation  and  improvement  of  the  Filipinos 
than  aU  other  forces  and  personalities.  These 
teachers  are  of  good  origin.  They  are  the 
children  of  the  great  body  of  native  American 
homes.  Many  of  them  are  graduates  of  the 
better  colleges,  especially  of  the  colleges  of 
the  Middle  West  and  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 
They  are  possessed  of  high  ideals.  They  have 
an  instinct  for  efficiency.  They  are  willing  to 
endure  hardships  as  good  soldiers.  They  unite 
intellectual  insight  and  comprehension  with 


246  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

the  moral  virtues.  They  are  forceful  without 
officiousness,  and,  while  conscious  of  their 
power,  and  watchful  for  opportunity,  are  yet 
not  arrogant.  Men  and  women  of  this  noble 
type  have  for  nine  and  more  years  been  work- 
ing as  teachers  in  the  Philippines,  are  still  work- 
ing, and  are  to  continue.  There  are  now  eight 
hundred  of  them. 

At  the  head  of  this  noble  force  are  the  Di- 
rector of  Education  and  his  administrative  as- 
sociates. Next  to  this  central  body  at  Manila, 
stands  the  officer  who  is  known  as  the  division 
superintendent.  A  province  represents  the 
field  of  service  of  the  division  superintendent. 
Upon  him  rests  the  responsibility  for  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  public  school  system.  He  is  the 
immediate  head  of  all  school  work  conducted 
in  his  province  or  division.  All  teachers  and 
principals  report  to  him,  and  are  immediately 
subject  to  his  direction.  He  appoints  all  muni- 
cipal teachers.  His  recommendations  are  very 
largely  considered  in  the  promotion  of  Amei^ 
ican  teachers  and  Insular  native  teachers.  He 
has  under  his  immediate  direction  in  some  in- 


AMERICAN  TEACHER  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES   247 

stances  as  many  as  fifty  American  teachers 
and  two  hundred  Filipinos.  He  is  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  school  work  before  the  pro- 
vincial board,  and  in  cases  is  a  member  of  the 
provincial  board,  —  the  governing  board  of 
the  province.  All  correspondence  from  or  to 
teachers  passes  through  his  office.  He  distrib- 
utes school  supplies,  and  is  accountable  for 
the  school  property  of  the  division  to  the  Audi- 
tor of  the  Archipelago.  He  has  daily  business 
relations  with  the  provincial  boards,  the  presi- 
dents, and  other  municipal  officers  of  the  town, 
with  the  American  teachers,  the  Filipino 
teachers,  and  close  personal  relations  with  the 
entire  FiHpino  population  of  his  province. 
With  him  rest  to  a  very  large  extent  the  good 
discipline  of  the  force,  the  attitude  of  the 
teachers  toward  their  duties,  and  the  general 
efficiency  and  success  of  the  school  work.  A 
large  part  of  his  time  is  spent  in  travel  from 
town  to  town,  a  work  not  only  onerous,  but  fre- 
quently accompanied  by  danger  from  storms, 
high  water,  dangerous  seas,  ladrones,  and  epi- 
demic disease.  The  work  makes  demands  upon 


248  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

every  high  quality  a  man  may  possess.  It  calls 
for  courage,  judgment,  tact,  and  sympathy. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  the  general  superintend- 
ent that  this  body  of  men  is  to-day  one  of  the 
most  respected  and  influential  forces  in  the 
Archipelago.  Their  qualities — physical,  men- 
tal, and  moral  —  are  exceptionally  high.  Such 
is  the  interpretation  given  in  official  docu- 
ments of  this  important  phase  of  the  service. 

In  the  graduated  systems  of  administrative 
supervision,  next  to  the  work  of  the  division 
superintendent  of  the  province  falls  the  work 
of  the  superintendent  of  a  small  local  district. 
His  work  is  of  a  kind  similar  to  that  of  the 
head  of  a  division.  Of  this  service  the  direc- 
tor says :  — 

As  supervising  teacher  he  is  the  representa- 
tive of  the  division  superintendent  in  the  dis- 
trict. He  must  consult,  tactfully  and  helpfully, 
with  the  municipal  president  and  council,  re- 
present the  school  needs  of  the  locality  to  this 
body,  and  obtain  the  cooperation  and  financial 
support.  His  relationship  with  the  people  of 
the  town  must  be  kindly,  helpful,  intimate, 
and  above  reproach.  He  has  under  him  a 
corps  of  native  officers  of  from  half  a  dozen 


AMERICAN  TEACHER  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES   249 

to  thirty,  whose  work  must  be  laid  out  before 
them  each  week,  or  often  each  day,  and  who 
must  be  constantly  visited  and  assisted  in  its 
discharge.  He  has  a  further  task  of  organiz- 
ing new  schools,  especially  in  those  barrios  or 
hamlets  which  are  far  separated  from  the  town 
centre,  and  which  are  frequently  densely  ig- 
norant and  lawless.  The  greater  part  of  his 
time  is  spent  in  school  visitation,  sometimes 
on  foot,  sometimes  by  horse  or  vehicle,  and 
frequently  by  canoe  on  streams  that  connect 
the  different  hamlets  of  the  municipality.  This 
work  must  be  followed  throughout  the  stormy 
season,  is  frequently  onerous  and  perilous,  and 
can  usually  be  successfully  discharged  only 
by  men  of  strong  constitution  and  more  than 
usual  courage  and  resolution.  Except  for  the 
fact  that  the  teacher  is  accorded  respect  and 
protection  by  practically  every  class  of  peo- 
ple in  the  Archipelago,  this  work  would  fre- 
quently contain  a  considerable  element  of 
danger.  By  reason  of  their  profession,  how- 
ever, teachers  are  enabled  to  visit  regularly  re- 
mote hamlets  of  their  districts,  even  in  pro- 
vinces still  disturbed  by  bandits  or  ladrones, 
where  a  single  man  in  military  uniform  might 
not  go  without  personal  danger.  As  a  part 
of  their  duty,  these  teachers  have  to  acquaint 
themselves  thoroughly  with  the  geography 
of  their  districts.  They  must  know  each  ham- 
let and  road,  and  they  must  thoroughly  under- 


250  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

stand  the  social  composition  of  the  commu- 
nity where  they  are  working. 

To  these  two  forms  of  supervision,  provin- 
cial and  district,  many  American  men  are  de- 
voting themselves.  The  remaining  number, 
both  men  and  women,  are  giving  themselves 
to  the  actual  work  of  teaching,  in  high 
schools,  or  in  the  normal  and  trade  schools  in 
Manila.  Engaged  in  such  a  service,  their  work 
does  not  differ  fundamentally  from  Hke  work 
done  in  the  States. 

But  the  people  of  these  islands  are  being 
educated  far  more  by  their  own  native  teach- 
ers than  by  the  Americans.  No  less  than  six 
thousand  Filipinos  are  now  teaching.  These 
six  thousand,  however,  are  largely  the  pro- 
duct themselves  of  American  teaching.  Upon 
them  and  their  associates  and  successors  does 
rest,  and  will  come  to  rest  more  completely, 
the  actual  and  broad  duty  of  giving  the  youth 
of  their  own  country  an  education.  The  testi- 
mony is  strong  that  they  are  able,  and  be- 
coming yet  more  able,  to  undertake  this  duty. 
The  teaching  which  I  have  seen  and  heard  is 


AMERICAN  TEACHER  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES    251 

of  a  high  order  of  excellence.  Under  them 
are  now  enrolled  about  a  half  million  of  Fili- 
pino boys  and  girls.  The  school  population 
of  the  islands  is  estimated  at  twelve  hundred 
thousand.  After  nine  years  of  educational 
occupation,  almost  one  half  of  the  children 
are  in  school.  A  great,  a  very  great  result  it 
is.  The  cost,  too,  is  one  which  represents 
economy  as  well  as  efficiency :  it  is  less,  each 
year,  than  twenty-five  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  no  small  share  of  the  sum  —  almost 
a  million  —  is  paid  by  the  taxes  of  the  pro- 
vinces and  municipalities  themselves. 

The  course  of  study  in  these  schools  is  not 
unlike  that  found  in  the  American  schools  of 
similar  grade.  Its  length,  however,  is  much 
abridged.  Many  of  the  boys  and  girls  have 
to  be  content,  in  all  their  eagerness  for  an 
education,  with  only  three  years.  But  the 
young  Filipino  has  an  active,  avaricious  mind, 
and  he  is  able  to  take  in  much.  In  the  course, 
however,  more  attention  is  paid  to  the  sciences 
than  at  home.  This  teaching  is  given  for  its 
material  benefit.    In  America    it  is  felt  by 


252  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

many  that  the  material  benefits  of  education 
are  too  strongly  emphasized.  The  cultural 
studies  should  receive  a  larger  share  of  atten- 
tion. But  in  our  Western  Pacific  possessions 
an  opposite  interpretation  and  practice  should 
and  does  prevail.  Yet,  despite  this  technical 
emphasis,  intimations  of  the  founding  of  a  uni- 
versity are  heard :  and  already  medical  instruc- 
tion, apparently  of  a  high  scientific  character, 
is  provided. 

The  world  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
education  represents  the  most  efficient  and  eco- 
nomical method  of  civilization.  With  all  of  its 
forcefulness  and  carefulness,  it  is  still  open  in 
many  respects  to  the  charge  of  pecuniary  ex- 
travagance and  administrative  wastefulness. 
The  results,  too,  at  times  seem  alarmingly 
slight,  superficial,  and  temporary.  The  Director 
of  Education  in  the  Philippines  has  such  effects 
in  mind  when  he  writes  :  — 

The  great  mass  of  public  school  pupils  are 
children  of  the  poor  or  lowest  classes.  What 
will  public  instruction  do  for  them?  Will  it, 
as  we  hope,  make  them  independent  producers, 


AMERICAN  TEACHER  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  253 

skilled  workmen,  intelligent  citizens  of  their 
towns,  free  them  from  debts,  raise  their  stand- 
ard of  life,  and  elevate  their  moral  character  ? 
This  is  the  final  test  of  the  service,  the  stand- 
ard by  which  this  system  of  public  instruction 
must  in  the  end  be  judged.  I  must  admit  that 
whether  or  not  the  public  schools  will  do  all 
this,  we  cannot  say.  Whether  they  can  make 
the  masses  intelligent,  industrious,  economical, 
and  upright  is  a  question  which  will  take  some 
years  of  further  progress  to  demonstrate,  and 
argument  whether  for  or  against  such  hopes  is 
at  the  present  time  mostly  futile. 

But  when  all  is  said,  the  most  satisfactory 
of  all  American  achievements  in  the  Philip- 
pines — and  many  are  very  satisfactory — is  the 
educational,  and  in  this  educational  achieve- 
ment the  American  teachers  deserve  the  meed 
of  highest  praise. 


XVII 

THE  COMPETITION  OF  THE  KACES  IN 
THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS 

As  the  world  shrinks,  the  relationships  of  the 
various  peoples  of  the  world  become  closer. 
The  closer  relationships  represent  more  intense 
competitions.  In  no  part  is  the  significance  of 
commercial,  industrial,  and  even  personal  com- 
petitions of  the  races  more  impressively  pre- 
sented than  in  the  Straits  Settlements. 

The  Straits  Settlements  still  represent  Brit- 
ish political  power.  The  century  of  domi- 
nance is  probably  the  first  of  several  centuries 
of  control.  But  British  political  policy  does 
not  forbid  the  entrance  of  the  commercial  and 
industrial  forces  of  other  nations.  Of  all  other 
nations,  Germany  is  seeking  to  establish  these 
forces  up  and  down  the  Malay  Peninsula.  In 
Penang,  and  even  in  Singapore,  and  in  the 
smaller  cities,  is  felt  the  commercial  pressure 
of    German    manufacturers    and   merchants. 


RACES  IN  THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS    255 

The  Englishman  is,  on  the  whole,  retiring,  and 
the  Teuton  is  coming  in.  The  Londoner  who 
now  comes  to  Penang  is  more  eager  to  get  back 
home  than  was  his  elder  brother  of  a  genera- 
tion ago,  and  instead  of  staying  thirty  years, 
as  did  the  elder  brother,  is  inclined  to  remain 
only  fifteen.  The  German  consequently  profits. 

The  goods,  too,  which  this  new  German 
sends  into  this  part  of  the  world  make  a  more 
effective  appeal  than  do  the  goods  sent  out  by 
and  to  the  old  Britisher.  They  are  a  cheaper 
sort  of  goods,  cheaper  both  in  price  and  qual- 
ity. But  it  is  the  articles — personal,  domestic, 
agricultural  —  of  the  smaller  cost  which  the 
Malay  desires.  His  wages  are  infinitesimal. 
His  scale  of  Hving  is  of  the  lowest.  The  well- 
made,  the  better  made,  products  of  England, 
he  feels  he  cannot  afford.  He  buys  the  infe- 
rior German  article,  but  at  a  price  which  his 
thin  purse  allows. 

It  is  also  probable  that  the  German  settled 
in  the  Straits  feels  the  support  of  the  home 
government  more  directly  and  constantly  than 
does  the  Britisher.  The  British  government 


256  EDUCATION   IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

gives  an  open  door  to  its  subjects,  protection 
to  life  and  property,  but  its  policy  is  not  the 
promotion  of  individual  interests.  The  Ger- 
man government,  however,  is  so  eager  to  es- 
tablish a  great  colonial  system  that  it  is  will- 
ing to  give  not  only  personal  protection,  but 
a  certain  promotion  to  individual  interests  and 
concerns. 

In  this  competition  of  the  white  races  in 
the  Straits  Settlements,  other  nationalities 
than  the  British  and  the  German  have  small 
share.  The  French  colonial  system  has  never 
proved  to  be  successful  except  at  a  very  high, 
a  too  high,  cost;  and  even  at  such  a  cost, 
who  would  dare  to  say  that  it  represents  a 
noble  type  of  success?  The  Hollander  has 
long  been  engaged  in  this  work  of  coloniza- 
tion in  this  general  region  of  the  globe,  but 
his  work  has  been  rather  that  of  a  farmer  than 
of  a  merchant.  The  American,  too,  be  it  said, 
must  be  counted  out.  He  has  not  been  will- 
ing, and  he  apparently  is  still  unwilling,  to 
seek  a  sale  of  his  goods  in  the  Malay  Pen- 
insula and  neighboring  parts.    A  friend  of 


RACES  IN  THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS    257 

mine,  an  American,  a  graduate  of  an  Ameri- 
can college,  after  trying  for  some  years  to 
sell  American  iron,  steel,  and  other  goods  in 
Siam  and  Singapore,  is  giving  up  the  attempt. 
"  We  cannot,"  he  declares,  "  get  our  home 
manufacturers  to  put  up  the  goods  in  such 
ways  as  these  people  like."  In  this  region  of 
the  East,  and  in  other  regions,  too,  are,  how- 
ever, it  may  be  said  in  passing,  two  American 
companies  which  have  succeeded  in  getting 
much  trade,  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and 
the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company.  These 
organizations  have  been  willing  to  adjust  the 
goods  which  they  wish  to  sell  to  the  special 
demands,  or  even  prejudices,  of  these  peoples. 
Even  if  the  Malay  has  not  wanted  the  Standard 
Oil  Company's  oil,  he  has  wanted  the  can. 
The  can  serves  as  a  water  bucket,  a  wash- 
boiler,  a  rice  pot,  and,  split  cornerwise,  as  a 
dustpan. 

This  competition  is  not  confined  to  the 
white-faced  races.  It  belongs  quite  as  much  to 
the  brown  and  the  yellow  peoples.  In  it  the 
Malay  is  hardly  a  factor.  He  is  the  child  of 


258  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

contented  indolence.  Give  him  a  piece  of  fish 
and  a  sand-bank  on  the  seashore  where  he  can 
bask  in  the  sun,  and  he  is  happy.  He  is  un- 
willing to  become  a  competitor  in  the  world's 
commercial  and  other  strifes.  The  Burmese, 
too,  if  a  higher  type,  is  likewise  reluctant.  In 
one  month  he  can  earn  enough  to  support 
himself  the  other  eleven :  why  should  he  seek 
to  transmute  a  land  ordained  for  ease  into  a 
country  of  achievement  ? 

The  active  factor  in  all  commercial  and 
financial  competition  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments is  the  Chinese.  He  is  present  every- 
where. In  every  employment  is  he  found.  He 
pulls  your  rickshaw;  he  waits  on  you  at 
table ;  he  makes  out  your  draft  at  the  bank- 
er's ;  he  sells  your  ticket  at  the  steamboat  of- 
fice: he  compounds  your  prescription  at  the 
druggist's.  Laborious,  observant,  economical, 
careful,  —  he  is  a  type  of  efficiency.  If  the 
Britisher  wishes  to  sell  his  property  and  re- 
turn home,  the  Chinese  buys  it.  If  the  trav- 
eler wishes  a  simple  errand  done,  the  Chinese 
boy  is  summoned.  If  one  wishes  for  an  impor- 


RACES  IN  THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS    259 

tant  commission  to  be  executed,  no  one  is  so 
certain  to  carry  the  "  message  to  Garcia  "  as 
this  same  man.  From  washing  linen  to  mend- 
ing coats  and  building  buildings,  this  same 
man  is  working. 

He  has  his  limitations.  He  lacks  accuracy ; 
he  is  not  thorough.  With  all  his  patience  and 
ploddingness  goes  along  an  element  of  haste 
and  unwillingness  to  take  pains.  He  is  hon- 
est, yet  so  avaricious  is  he  that  the  buyer 
should  be  willing  to  be  watchful.  He  does 
not  readily  take  the  initiative,  and,  so  gifted 
is  he  in  the  imitative  arts,  that  he  might  not 
prove  to  be  a  worthy  master  in  a  new  crisis. 

But  subject  to  all  his  limitations,  the  Chi- 
nese is  at  present  the  chief  of  the  competing 
non-white  races  of  the  Malay  Peninsula.  He 
—  this  Chinese  man  —  mingles  easily  with 
the  other  races.  He  is  not  a  fighter.  He  goes 
about  his  business,  and  he  lets  other  men  go 
about  theirs.  He  marries  the  daughters  of 
other  colored  races,  and  the  children  seem  — 
as  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  —  to  be  of  a  race 
better  than  either  the  paternal  or  the  mater- 


260  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

nal  stock.  The  Burmese,  the  whole  Malay 
race,  are  indolent,  easy-going,  impassive,  as 
are  the  Hawaiians,  and  as  are  most  peoples 
■who  live  in  a  permanently  high  temperature. 
But  such  a  race  united  with  an  active,  forth- 
putting,  vigorous  race,  Hke  the  Chinese,  brings 
forth  a  new  people,  quiet  without  lethargy, 
active  without  great  energy,  and  efficient. 
Such  a  result  is  found  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments and  in  other  tropical  parts  where  the 
Chinese  choose  as  their  wives  the  daughters 
of  native  races. 

The  Chinese  are  more  afraid  of  the  compe- 
titions—  commercial  and  racial  —  of  the  Japa- 
nese than  of  any  other  nation.  The  Japanese, 
however,  have  not  yet  entered  the  Straits 
Settlements  in  appreciable  numbers.  Those 
who  leave  their  native  islands  prefer  to  turn 
their  faces  either  toward  America,  —  a  land 
which  they  are  inclined  to  think  of  as  an 
educational  and  commercial  El  Dorado,  —  or 
toward  their  own,  or  half  own,  possessions 
of  Korea  and  Manchuria.  To  the  mainland  of 


RACES  IN  THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS    261 

eastern  Asia  the  Japanese  are  moving,  and 
will  move.  In  Chinese  ports  they  are  found  as 
shopkeepers  and  artisans.  Of  them  as  com- 
mercial competitors,  the  Chinese  are  quite  as 
afraid  as  are  the  white  carpenters  of  San 
Francisco  afraid  of  the  rivalry  of  Chinese 
carpenters.  Such  racial  and  industrial  fore- 
bodings! But  the  Straits  Settlements  have 
not  yet  proved  attractive  to  the  people  of 
Tokyo  and  Kyoto.  Of  the  colored  races,  the 
Chinese  are  still  easily  the  commercial  and 
financial  masters. 

In  the  future,  for  any  length  of  time  which 
is  worth  while  for  the  mind  of  man  to  con- 
sider, it  would  seem  that  the  political  power 
would  necessarily  abide  with  the  British ;  the 
commercial  and  industrial  interests  will  also 
rest  in  part  with  them,  but  with  the  German 
commanding  a  constantly  increasing  share. 
The  German,  like  the  Britisher,  looks  upon 
the  brown  and  yellow  races  as  distinctly  infe- 
rior to  the  white,  and  bound  always  to  occupy 
a  subordinate  place.  But  beneath  the  domi- 


262  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

nant  white  peoples,  the  German  and  British, 
■will  be  found  the  Chinese,  hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water,  yet  slowly  lifting  them- 
selves into  place  and  power. 


XVIII 

INDIRECT  FORCES  FOR  CIVILIZATION 
IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Some  of  the  most  efficient  forces  making  for 
civilization  in  the  Far  East  are  indirect.  Such 
forces  have  not  for  their  primary  or  immedi- 
ate purpose  the  promoting  of  civilization ;  but 
though  holding  other  purposes  —  commercial, 
scientific,  or  national  —  as  primary,  yet  their 
presence  and  operation  do  result  in  the  growth 
of  civilization.  Such  forces  are  becoming  at 
once  more  numerous  and  more  influential. 

Among  these  forces  are  to  be  named  all  com- 
mercial and  industrial  undertakings.  Every 
railroad  or  telegraph  or  telephone  line  built 
in  China,  or  Korea,  or  Japan,  serves  to  intro- 
duce to  the  people  of  these  lands  most  impor- 
tant symbols,  methods,  and  results  of  Western 
civilization.  Every  steamship  entering  the  har- 
bor of  Nanking  or  of  Hankow  carries  not  only 
the  goods,  but  at  least  some  of  the  good  of  the 


264  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

occidental  world.  Every  bridge  built  by  Amer- 
ican or  English  engineers  serves  to  unite  the 
peoples  of  the  East  and  of  the  West  in  more 
intelHgent  sympathies.  It  may  be  added  that 
this  condition  lays  upon  the  people  of  the  West 
serious  responsibilities.  The  Japanese  mer- 
chant has  a  bad  reputation  for  honesty,  but 
the  Japanese  government  is  distinguished  for 
its  integrity ;  the  Chinese  merchant  is  distin- 
guished for  his  integrity,  but  his  government 
is  likewise  as  distinguished  for  its  practice 
of  graft,  great  and  small.  But  the  American 
and  the  English  merchant  or  engineer  hurts 
the  cause  of  civilization  in  these  two  great 
empires  whenever  he,  directly  or  indirectly, 
permits  or  promotes  chicanery  in  commercial 
affairs.  The  higher  as  well  as  the  lower  inter- 
ests of  America  in  China  received  a  disastrous 
blow  in  the  Canton  and  Hankow  Railroad  un- 
dertaking. The  Chinese  do  not  forget  the  con- 
duct of  some  Americans  in  the  sale  of  that 
concession. 

The  traveling,  too,  of  Americans  and  Eng- 
lish in  the  Far  East  should  be  counted  on  the 


INDIRECT  FORCES  FOR  CIVILIZATION    265 

side  of  the  beneficent  forces.  Most  obvious  is 
it  to  say  that  the  influence  of  certain  travelers 
is  pestiferous ;  but,  on  the  whole,  each  of  this 
vast  and  constantly  increasing  throng  carries 
along  a  glimpse  of  possibilities  of  a  larger  and 
finer  life.  The  same  result  is  accomplished 
through  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  commission- 
ers, who  come  to  America  or  England  for  a 
stay  either  brief  or  prolonged. 

But  especially  is  the  civihzation  of  the  Far 
East  helped  forward  by  the  Japanese  and  Chi- 
nese students  who  come  to  America.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  Chinese 
youth  who  came  to  America  thirty-seven  years 
ago,  although  called  home  prematurely,  has  for 
a  generation  been  of  tremendous  worth.  Few 
of  them  have  come  to  occupy  such  significant 
places  as  Sir  Chentung  Liang-Cheng,  a  for- 
mer Ambassador  from  China  to  the  United 
States,  has  filled ;  yet  in  various  administrative 
offices,  as  well  as  in  private  business,  they  have 
done  much  for  the  reconstruction  of  their  an- 
cient and  conservative  nation.  To  the  Chinese 
coming  to  America  one  peril  emerges,  —  the 


266  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

peril  of  becoming  so  wedded  to  Western  ways 
that  they,  on  returning  home,  find  themselves 
foreigners  in  their  own  home  land.  Their  new 
sympathies  are  not  grateful  to  their  country- 
men, and  the  old  ways  are  not  pleasant  to 
themselves.  They  are  "  betwixt  two  worlds, 
one  dead,  and  the  other  waiting  to  be  born." 
The  Japanese  who  graduate  at  American  col- 
leges, returning  to  their  native  islands,  are 
free  from  such  untoward  conditions.  Respon- 
sive, perhaps  too  responsive,  is  the  welcome 
given  by  their  fellow  countrymen  to  the  ideas 
and  ideals  which  they  bring  out  of  their  West- 
ern residence. 

From  this  international  fellowship  of  col- 
lege men  springs  a  further  indirect  force  mak- 
ing for  civilization.  College  men  everywhere 
have  a  peculiar  feeling  of  camaraderie  for  one 
another.  This  camaraderie  is  based  upon  con- 
ditions more  solid  than  its  more  obvious  and 
lighter  manifestations  might  lead  the  careless 
observer  to  think.  It  is  based  upon  a  fellow- 
ship with  the  higher  thoughts,  feelings,  and 
relations  of  humanity.  Such  a  fellowship  be- 


INDIRECT  FORCES  FOR  CIVILIZATION    267 

longs  to  the  Chinese  no  less  than  to  the  Japa- 
nese, and  to  the  Japanese  no  less  than  to  the 
American.  Baron  Kaneko,  of  Tokyo,  speak- 
ing of  the  desirability  of  forming  a  university 
club  in  Tokyo,  —  a  capital  where  are  some 
fourscore  Yale  graduates  and  twoscore  Har- 
vard,— said  that  the  university  men  of  Tokyo 
could  remove  any  fear  of  war  for  unworthy 
cause  between  Japan  and  the  United  States. 
The  remark  was  true,  and  has  relations  far  be- 
yond Tokyo  and  even  Japan. 

A  further  indirect  force  making  for  civili- 
zation is  the  presence  of  American  teachers 
in  the  government  schools  of  Japan  and  of 
China.  For  more  than  a  generation  these 
teachers  have  been  working  in  Japanese 
schools.  In  the  last  decade  a  few  have  entered 
the  government  schools  of  China.  These  men 
are  usually  graduates  of  American  colleges, 
and  in  personal  character  represent  the  best 
which  the  American  home  or  college  can  give. 
They  may  be  Christian  men,  or  not ;  but  if 
they  are  they  do  not  use  their  position  to  teach 
the  Christian  faith,  or  to  impose  its  principles 


268  EDUCATION  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

upon  those  who  twice  a  month  are  required 
to  worship  the  tablet  of  Confucius ;  they  may 
teach  the  English  Bible,  in  informal  classes, 
and  to  large  numbers,  but  the  large  attendance 
arises  from  the  desire  to  learn  English,  not 
to  know  the  Bible.  Nevertheless,  the  presence 
and  the  teaching  of  these  men  are  real,  even 
if  indirect,  causes  of  a  higher  life.  They  bear 
the  world-sense  to  a  people  to  many  of  whom 
there  is  no  world  beyond  the  great  wall  or  the 
yellow  water.  It  may  be  added  in  passing, 
that  the  field  for  teaching  in  the  government 
schools  of  China  is  one  that  should  appeal  to 
the  recent  college  graduate.  The  opportunity 
for  human  service  is  rich ;  the  enlargement  of 
one's  conception  of  life  great;  and,  what  the  re- 
cent graduate  is  commonly  obliged  to  consider, 
the  salary  is  larger  by  twofold  than  he  could 
secure  in  America. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is 
found  throughout  the  Far  East.  It  should, 
perhaps,  be  interpreted  as  a  most  direct  rather 
than  an  indirect  force  for  civilization.  But,  of 
whatever  nature,  it  represents  a  mighty  power 


INDIRECT  FORCES  FOR  CIVILIZATION    269 

making  for  human  betterment.  The  organiza- 
tion is  administered  in  wisdom,  inspired  by 
warm  personal  devotion,  and  carefully  kept 
free  from  untoward  complications.  Its  officers 
in  such  cities  as  Tokyo,  Kyoto,  Peking,  and 
Shanghai  represent  the  best  type  of  young 
American  and  oriental  manhood.  Its  buildings 
already  built,  or  to  be  built,  are  centres  for 
the  sending  forth  of  the  richest  forces  for 
preserving  men  from  intellectual  disintegration 
and  moral  dissipation,  and  for  inspiring  them 
with  the  highest  ideals. 

To  another  force  allusion  should  be  made. 
The  presence  of  a  simple  and  noble  home  in 
any  village  or  town  of  the  Far  East  is  an  ex- 
ample which  represents  and  helps  onward  the 
course  of  civilization.  By  those  who  do  not 
appreciate  this  fact,  the  missionary  is  some- 
times accused  of  living  in  an  unfitting  luxury. 
The  charge  is  usually  unfounded,  and  is  some- 
times I  fear  base.  The  home  of  the  better 
people  whose  life  is  lived,  and  whose  work  is 
done,  in  the  Far  East  embodies  what  the  home 
should  embody, —  restfulness,  happiness,  com- 


270  EDUCATION  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

panionship,  recreation,  purity,  inspiration.  It 
also  represents  simplicity  in  furnishing  and 
economy  in  expenditure ;  abundance  without 
wastefulness,  carefulness  free  from  penurious- 
ness.  Such  a  home  is  a  moving  example  to 
peoples  among  whom  the  idea  of  the  home  is 
lacking,  or,  if  not  lacking,  takes  on  unworthy 
forms.  For  the  home  should  be  made  the  cen- 
tre of  civilization  no  less  in  the  Far  East  than 
in  the  Occident. 

It  should  be  said,  in  conclusion,  that  the 
daily  newspaper  represents  a  power  promotive 
of  the  larger  vision  and  understanding  of  the 
nations  of  the  Far  East.  Only  a  few  years  ago 
all  China  contained  only  one  daily  paper 
printed  in  the  vernacular,  the  "Peking  Ga- 
zette." To-day,  after  thirty  years,  newspapers 
are  numbered  by  scores.  Japan  is  richer  in 
daily  journals  than  China.  Even  if  in  neither 
country  there  is  freedom  of  the  press,  yet  their 
simple  publication  enlarges  the  understanding 
of  all  the  people.  In  Peking  is  a  daily  news- 
paper owned  and  edited  by  a  woman,  and  a 
very  good  paper  I  know  it  to  be.  The  papers 


INDIRECT  FORCES  FOR  CIVILIZATION    271 

printed  in  English  help  forward  the  same  cause, 
although  somewhat  less  effectively ;  for,  with 
two  or  three  exceptions,  they  do  not  represent 
the  best  type  of  journaHsm.  The  worth  of  all 
these  journals  as  expressing  pubUc  sentiment 
constantly  increases. 


INDEX 


Administrators,  Japanese  as,  104. 

Agriculture  in  India,  203. 

America  in  the  Pacific,  223. 

American  education  vs.  Japa- 
nese, 70. 

American  teacher  in  the  Philip- 
pines, 245. 

American  teacher  in  Japan  and 
China,  267. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  reference  to, 
130 ;  quotation  from,  166. 

Balance  of  power  in  Far  East, 

34. 
Baroda,  Gaekwar  of,  quotations 

from,  205,  207,  210,  216,  217. 
Barrows,    Director,    quotations 

from,  248,  252. 
Benares,  temples  in,  214. 
Bismarck,  reference  to,  102. 
Boxer  movement,  146, 162. 
Buddhism,  11. 

Camaraderie  of  students,  266. 

Career  of  college  man  in  India, 
187. 

Caste  in  India,  179;  harm  of, 
209. 

Chang  -  Chih  -  Tung,  quotation 
from,  147. 

Change  of  educational  purposes 
of  Chinese  authorities,  151. 

Chentung-Liang-Cheng,  refer- 
ence to,  265. 

China,  American  teachers  in, 
267;  Asiatic,  25;  climate  of. 


24 ;  Confucianism  in,  23 ;  con- 
servatism of,  26 ;  for  Chinese, 
159;  gambling  in,  132;  gov- 
ernment of,  19,  26;  "graft" 
in,  21 ;  grades  of  education  in, 
138 ;  industrialism  in,  165 ;  in- 
fant mortality  in,  16  ;  lack  of 
society  in,  131 ;  lack  of  good 
teachers  in,  54, 154 ;  literature 
of,  24 ;  natural  resources  of, 
24;  new  education  in,  138; 
opium  smoking  in,  132 ;  prob- 
lem of,  16. 

Chinese,  army,  125;  astuteness 
of  mind  of,  27 ;  commercial  in- 
tegrity of,  25 ;  conception  of 
disease,  17  ;  course  of  study  in, 
schools,   139 ;   cowards,   159 
currency,  136 ;  education,  dif- 
ficulties of,  149 ;  family,  126 
funerals,  18  ;  government,  124 
"  graft "  in,  army,  160 ;  guilds, 
128;    institutions,    123;   lack 
of,  patriotism,  161 ;  laws,  134 
menace,  158 ;  press,  133  ;  pro- 
perty vested  in  family,  127 
scholar,  high  place  of,  in  so- 
ciety, 152;  schoolhouses,  143 
in  Straits   Settlements,   258 
students,  mind  of,  144 ;  super- 
stitions,   18 ;    teachers,    144 
text-books,    143;    virility  of, 
24;    worship    of    Confucius 
among,  129. 

Christianity,   missionary  power 
of,  in  education,  148. 


274 


INDEX 


Civilization  in  Philippines  de- 
mands time,  242. 

Clergymen,  small  number  of, 
from  Indian  Christian  col- 
leges, 188. 

College  men  in  Philippines,  240. 

Commerce  and  industry  as  civU- 
izers,  263. 

Commerce  as  a  calling  in  India, 
193. 

Competition  of  races  in  Straits 
Settlements,  254. 

Confucius,  ethics  of,  15, 23 ;  wor- 
ship of,  among  Chinese,  129. 

Course  of  study  in  Chinese 
schools,  139. 

Cromer's  Report  on  Egypt,  52. 

Curzon's  administration  in  In- 
dia, 36. 

Curzon,  reference  to,  218. 

Disease,  conception  of,  among 
Chinese,  17. 

Education,  higher,  for  women  in 
India,  178 ;  Japanese  vs. 
American,  70 ;  of  girls  in 
Egypt,  55 ;  the  problem  of,  in 
Egypt,  50. 

Education  without  religion  and 
with  ethics,  95. 

Educational  system  in  Philip- 
pines, 246. 

Egypt,  Cromer's  Reports  on,  52 ; 
education  the  problem  of,  50 ; 
education  of  girls  in,  55 ;  lack 
of  teachers  in,  54 ;  Mohamme- 
dan education  in,  51 ;  problem 
of,  50 ;  trade  schools  in,  53. 

Eliot,  President,  reference  to, 
155. 

England,  in  India,  advantage  of 


rule  of,  196 ;  in  Straits  Settle- 
ments, 254. 

English  colonial  government  vs. 
United  States  government  in 
the  Philippines,  237. 

Ethics,  teaching  of,  in  Japan,  14, 
66,  100. 

Eurasians,  allusion  to,  13. 

Experimentation,  vegetable,  in 
Hawaiian  Islands,  231. 

Filipinos  as  teachers,  250. 
Foreign   students    in    America, 
265;  peril  of,  266. 

Gambling  in  China,  132. 

Ganges  River  in  religious  rites, 
215. 

German  goods  in  the  Straits  Set- 
tlements, 255. 

Germany  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, 254. 

Government  of  China,  19. 

Guilds,  Chinese,  128. 

Hall,  Charles  Cuthbert,  quota- 
tion from,  221. 

Hart,  Sir  Robert,  reference  to, 
21. 

Hawaiian  Islands,  inspection  of 
plants  and  animals  in,  228; 
parasites  in,  226;  vegetable 
experimentation  in,  231. 

Hindus,  division  among,  198. 

Home  an  aid  to  civilization,  269. 

Hospitals,  Japanese,  106. 

India,  advantage  of  English  rule 
in,  196;  agriculture  in,  203; 
anomalousness  of  England's 
presence  in,  49 ;  career  of  col- 
lege man  in,  187;   caste  in, 


INDEX 


275 


179,  209 ;  commercial  and  ag"- 
ricultural  education  in,  175; 
Curzon's  administration  in,  36 ; 
early  marriage  in,  179 ;  eco- 
nomic future  of,  203;  future 
of,  196 ;  future  of  women  in, 
184;  higher  education  for 
women  in,  178 ;  industrialism 
in,  204 ;  lack  of  sympathy  of 
English  residents  with  natives 
in,  43  ;  national  consciousness 
in,  45 ;  need  of  technical  and 
industrial  education  in,  169; 
opposition  of  parents  to  edu- 
cation of  daughters  in,  180 ; 
people  of,  better  fitted  for 
self-government,  39 ;  people 
of,  ignorance  of,  41 ;  political 
freedom  in,  47 ;  problem  of, 
36 ;  religions  in,  214 ;  seclusion 
of  women  in,  178 ;  small  num- 
ber of  clergymen  from  Chris- 
tian colleges  in,  188 ;  small 
salaries  of  teachers  in,  190 ; 
technical  education,  value  of, 
in,  170;  technical  schools  in, 
172 ;  universities  in,  183  ;  un- 
rest in,  temporary  causes  of, 
36 ;  unrest  in,  permanent 
causes  of,  39 ;  women  as  teach- 
ers in,  185. 

Indian,  commerce  as  a  calling 
for  the,  193 ;  journalism  as  a 
profession  for  the,  192;  law 
as  a  profession  for  the,  189 ; 
medicine  as  a  profession  for 
the,  191 ;  mind,  171 ;  students, 
poverty  of,  171 ;  teaching  as  a 
profession  for  the,  189. 

Indirect  forces  for  civilization  in 
the  Far  East,  263. 

Ito,  policy  of,  in  Korea,  30. 


Japan,  American  teachers  in, 
267 ;  as  a  colonizing  and  ex- 
panding power,  112;  as  a 
world-power,  8,  146 ;  crisis  in, 
3 ;  education  without  religion 
and  with  ethics  in,  95;  ex- 
clusion of  dogmatic  religious 
instruction  in,  98  ;  influence  of, 
in  China,  146 ;  leadership  ia, 
115 ;  relation  of,  to  Korea, 
28 ;  simple  life  in,  4 ;  simple 
life,  forces  opposing,  5  ;  simple 
life,forces  promoting, 9 ;  small 
area  of  cultivation  in,  113; 
small  number  of  emigrants 
from,  118 ;  Tanamoto's  method 
of  religious  teaching  in,  98; 
teaching  of  ethics  in,  14; 
wealth  in,  5. 

Japanese,  an  adjustable  people, 
115;  as  administrators,  104; 
budget  for  education,  75; 
courtesy  the  foe  of  efficiency, 
110;  education  vs.  American, 
70 ;  education  in  ethics  of,  66 ; 
family,  67 ;  government  in 
Korea  vs.  United  States  gov- 
ernment in  the  Philippines, 
238 ;  greater  love  of,  for  na- 
tion than  for  territory,  113 ; 
a  hardy  race,  114;  hospitals, 
106 ;  lack  of  sense  of  value  of 
time,  107  ;  libraries,  76 ;  mind, 
61 ;  mind,  absence  of  Greek 
in  training  of,  65 ;  mind  in  evo- 
lutionary process,  68;  obedi- 
ence of,  117 ;  passion  for  prog^- 
ress,  113 ;  racial  purity  of,  12 ; 
rescript  on  education,  70,  71 ; 
schools,  examinations  in,  81 ; 
schools,  fees  in,  85 ;  schools 
large    attendance      in,     85; 


276 


INDEX 


schools,  popularity  of  subjects, 
in,  80 ;  schoolhouses,  73 ;  self- 
restraint  of,  10 ;  students,  dor- 
mitories for,  90;  students, 
laboriousness  of,  91 ;  students, 
orderliness  of,  93;  students, 
personal  relation  of,  to  teach- 
ers, 83 ;  students,  poverty  of, 
88;  students,  sports  of,  92; 
teachers,  72 ;  teachers,  pension 
system  of,  79;  teachers,  per- 
sonal relations  to  students  of, 
83;  teachers,  salaries  of,  77; 
teachers,  women  as,  72 ;  uni- 
versities, expenses  of  students 
in,  89. 

Jones,  J.  P.,  quotation  from, 
212. 

Journalism,  an  aid  to  civilization, 
270 ;  as  a  profession  in  India, 
192. 

Kaneko,  Baron,  reference  to, 
267. 

Korea,  a  belated  nation,  29; 
doom  of,  35 ;  lack  of  leader- 
ship in,  31 ;  problem  of,  4 ; 
relation  of,  to  Japan,  28; 
world's  interest  in,  33. 

Lack  of  good  teachers  in  China, 
154. 

Ladd,  George  Trumbull,  quota- 
tions from,  101,  102. 

Law  as  a  profession  for  the  In- 
dian, 189. 

Leaf-hoppers  in  Hawaiian  Is- 
lands, 226. 

Malay  race,  257. 

Mandarin,  injustice  of  court  of, 


Manila,  cost  of  living  in,  236. 
Marriage,      early,      in      India, 

179. 
Medicine  as  a  profession  for  the 

Indian,  191. 
Memory,  training  of,  54. 
Mitsui  family,  reference  to,  5. 
Mohammedan      education      in 

Egypt,  51. 
Mohammedan  education  of  girls, 

55. 
Morse,  H.  B.,   quotation  from 

136. 

Nakashima,  text-books  of,  15. 
New  education  in  China,  138. 
"  North    China    Daily    News," 
quotation  from,  133. 

Okura,  allusion  to,  7. 

Opium  smoking  in  China,  132. 

Pacific,  America  in  the,  223. 

Peril  of  foreign  students  iu 
America,  266. 

Philippines,  American  teacher 
in,  245;  civilization  demands 
time  in,  242 ;  college  men  in, 
240;  educational  system  in, 
246 ;  great  men  in,  235 ;  opti- 
mism of  men  in,  241. 

Productivity  of  nature  in  tropics, 
225. 

Racial  purity  of  the  Japanese, 

12. 
Religions  in  India,  214. 

Scholarship,  respect   for,  in  Ja- 
pan, 13. 
Science  as  a  national  protector, 

225. 


INDEX 


277 


Seclusion  of  women  in  India, 
178. 

Self-restraint  of  Japanese,  10. 

Small  salaries  of  teachers  in  In- 
dia, 190. 

Smith,  Governor-General,  quota- 
tion from,  245. 

Straits  Settlements,  Chinese  in, 
258 ;  competition  of  races  in, 
254;  England  in,  254;  Ger- 
many in,  254 ;  German  goods 
in,  255. 

Students,  camaraderie  of,  266. 

Superstition  among  Chinese,  18. 

Tait,  Archbishop,  quotation 
from,  3. 

Teachers,  American,  in  Japan 
and  China,  267 ;  lack  of,  in 
China,  54,  154;  lack  of,  in 
Egypt,  54 ;  women  as,  in  In- 
dia, 185. 

Teaching  as  a  profession  for  the 
Indian,  189. 


Technical  schools  in  India,  172. 
Townsend,  Meredith,  quotation 

from,  244. 
Trade  schools  in  Egypt,  53. 

United  States  government  in  the 
Philippines  vs.  English  colo- 
nial government,  2'6l. 

United  States  government  in  the 
Philippines  vs.  Japanese  gov- 
ernment in  Korea,  238. 

Universities,  expense  of  Japa- 
nese students  in,  89 ;  in  India, 
183. 

Unrest  in  India,  causes  of,  36. 

Vassar,  Matthew,  reference  to, 
186. 

World,  goverimient  of  weaker 
nations  of,  by  stronger,  33. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions in  the  Far  East,  268. 


^ij^^^^lX^ 


OF  THE 


UN/VERSiTY 


IFOH\ 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U    .    S    .   A 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 
NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 


^      ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(510)642-6753  ^     , 

1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bnnging  books 

Renewals    and    recharges    may    be    made   4   days 
prior  to  due  date 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


Mi  ^99^ 


! 
--i 


f 


LD. 


20.000  (4/94) 


re  03709 


[^^^    ru^ 


\ Q  1  inn 


